


The Same Four Notes

by amybri2002



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: ...some hurt/comfort as well 'cause y'all know i'm a slut for hurt/comfort, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Panic Attacks, band au, i'll put trigger warnings at the top of any chapters that need them, mostly fluff tho with some angst sprinkled in here and there, there is an awful lot of fluff tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-02
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2019-06-18 17:01:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 39,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15490542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amybri2002/pseuds/amybri2002
Summary: When they hear that soft piano playing from classroom a couple doors down, Roman and Patton are immediately enchanted, and make it their life mission to find that piano player - the young boy who just so happens to be Virgil. A bond quickly forms between the three, with their love for music drawing them all closer to one another.The music that they create together let's them forget about their troubles in life. Roman is finally free from his guardians who just don't understand him. Patton is finally able to show how he is truly feeling. And Virgil? He finally has a group of people who have his back.And then there's that guy in the café. Logan. Who, without knowing, is tied to all three of the musical boys. Even with no musical skills himself, he joins the gang, and is finally able to express his feelings in a way he never has before. Besides, what's a band without a manager?So, with the four boys hand in hand, they all know that they can conquer anything.





	1. Virgil

**Author's Note:**

> I have been working on his goddamn fic for six months and I can finally share it with you guys. 
> 
> This was written for Thomas Sanders Big Bang project that started over on Tumblr, where basically a bunch of writers had to write fics with at least 15k words, and were partnered up with artists who made stuff for said fic. My partners were @digitally-analog and @pump-the-breaks-princey: 
> 
> @digitally-analog composed this awesome song that is included later in the story, which you can listen to here: https://soundcloud.com/omniscient-music/slip-away/s-0Qe0J  
> @pump-the-breaks-princey created a beautiful piece of artwork inspired by this story, which you can view here: https://pump-the-breaks-princey.tumblr.com/post/176579191180/so-this-is-my-contribution-to-the-fanders-big  
> I have also uploaded this fic onto my tumblr, @lotusthatexists. 
> 
> Now that that's all out of the way, let's get into the fic! I hope that y'all enjoy!

The young boy's fingers danced gracefully across the keys, perfectly in sink with both the boys thoughts and the soft violin coming from the room down the hallway. For the first time in ages, he felt completely free. He was at peace.

It was rare that Virgil would be able to do this. He didn't own a piano himself, and he had been too nervous to take music as an option. That would mean performing in front of people, and if he had trouble performing in front of only _himself_ , how would he ever get to perform in front of a crowd? Even if he could find that courage, it wouldn't matter. He wasn't that good at piano. Compared to other students, at least.

So, the only time that Virgil would ever practise was if there was no one in any of the music rooms. There was one music room that was always abandoned, so he knew he could go in there at any time, but he always liked to check that the surrounding classrooms were also empty.

This time, he had made an exception. He hadn't played in months, and knew that if he didn't play at some point then he would have a complete breakdown. Piano helped to keep him calm. It kept him grounded. He _needed_ it to survive. Still, he hated other people hearing. That night, there was a student practising the violin in another music room a couple doors down. For once, he managed to ignore that, and just _played_.

What surprised him was how well his music blended in with the violin. He was sure that he had never talked to that student - he had never talked to _anyone_ at that school - and yet, they just seemed to _work_ together. Even with no communication, it sounded beautiful. Perfect.

Virgil pressed down on the final few keys. The song ended on a C chord. He had always liked ending on that. It was a nice sounding chord. Different from the minor chords that he tended to use in the duration of the pieces. He let out a small smile as he let the sound ring out through the room, before slowly standing up, picking up his bag, and beginning to exit the room.

He stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed a person standing in the doorway.

The violin had stopped playing.

Virgil's heart had stopped beating.

He was short. That's the first thing that Virgil noticed. Then again, Virgil had always been tall. He had soft brown hair, a similar colour to what Virgil's hair was like before he dyed it a darker purple. His face was dotted with freckles, and a pair of black Warby Parker's sat on top of his button nose. He wore a simple blue polo shirt, with a beige cardigan wrapped around his waist, and brown knee-length shorts on his legs. And...

He was staring in wonder at Virgil.

A huge smile spread across the boy's face, and he took an excited step closer to him. "That was amazing!" he praised. "Roman! Come over here!"

Virgil heard footsteps from down the corridor. More people. No. It was bad enough that _one_ person had seen him there, nevermind two or possibly more. He had to get out of there. Preferably _before_ the other dude arrived.

He pushed past the first person, and exited the room without a word, trying his best to hide his face. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another person, dressed in all white with his hair dyed a full rainbow, enter the room he had just left, and half-a-second later exit with the boy in blue. Blue grabbed White's shoulder, and pointed over at Virgil. Virgil picked up the pace. He had to get out of there. He had to get away, get away, get away...

He didn't stop running until he reached his room, and he didn't stop praying to never see those two boys again until he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Virgil jolted awake at the sound of his phone vibrating on the table beside him. Groaning, he picked it up, and quickly scanned the screen. An incoming call, from an unknown number. He immediately declined. He was definitely  _not_ in the mood for that. 

His eyes glanced up to the time. 20:32. Ugh. He must have passed out as soon as he got back home. He knew there was no way that he would be able to get back to sleep. 

He tried to think back to what had happened earlier. He didn't remember walking through the crowds on his way home, meaning he must have stayed at school for a while. But doing what? He hadn't stayed back since the first few weeks after the summer holidays. Why would he have stayed back? He didn't have detention, he  _never_ had detention, it didn't make any- 

It suddenly dawned on him that he had stayed behind to practise. And those people had found him. Oh God. 

Virgil jumped out of bed, and grabbed his phone and bag, heading out of his bedroom. He had to go somewhere to take his mind off everything. People finding out about the whole music thing he had going would not be good. He had always told himself that. He had  _always_ checked that there was no one around. Why hadn't he checked that night? God, he was so stupid. 

"Virgil?" a voice called, as his hand hovered over the doorknob. 

He turned around, and called, "Yeah?"

"Where are you going?" It was his mum. Of course. 

"Out," Virgil replied, staying completely still. 

"At half eight at night?" his mum questioned. 

"Yup." He opened the door. 

"Virgil," his mum called again, more forcibly this time. "Come here."

Virgil sighed, and closed the door, making his way out into the living room. He half-sat down on the arm of a chair, looking over at his mum sat on the sofa. The TV was muted, with some sort of cooking show playing. 

"Why are you going out at this time?" she asked. 

Virgil sighed. "I need to get my mind off stuff, okay? There's, like, no proper reason. I was just gonna go for a walk."

"What's going on?"

"Nothing."

"Then why do you need to 'get your mind off stuff'?"

"I don't-"

"We don't need to sign you up for therapy again, do we?" 

Virgil groaned. "Look, Mum, seriously, everything is fine. I  _just_ want to go for a walk. Or, like, go somewhere quiet, to get some work done."

There was silence for a moment, before his mum said, "Fine. Just don't be out too late."

"Thank you." He let out a sigh of relief, and exited the house, feeling a smile grow on his face upon being hit with a breeze of cool air. 


	2. Roman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song used in this chapter is 'I See The Light' from the movie Tangled.

"Who _was_ that?" Roman asked, almost two hours after Patton had found the piano boy. After he had made a quick escape, the other two had tried to find him, but ultimately failed. Eventually, they decided to head back to Patton's place, as they do most days. Patton's parents had always welcomed Roman as one of their own, so he found himself at their house way more than he should have been.

Neither of them had managed to figure out who that boy was, or why he had ran away. There _must_ have been a good reason for their escape, Roman was sure of it. And he had to agree with Patton that the piano playing was _beautiful_. No doubt about it. He had to meet this guy.

"I don't know who he was, but he didn't seem all too happy to see that I saw him there," Patton said, collapsing onto his bed. "He looked kinda afraid, actually. And he did run away pretty quickly when you started to come in."

"Yeah, I know, we've gone over this like twenty times!" Roman reminded him.

There was silence for a moment. Patton stood up, and made his way to the other side of the room, picking up his ukulele. He then returned to his bed, and sat with his legs crossed. Roman cracked a smile as Patton began to strum a familiar song. And a Disney song, at that. One of the things that the two had first bonded over had been Disney. Roman sat down next to Patton, his legs hanging off the side of the bed, and began to sing:

" _All those days, watching from the window._  
_All those years, outside looking in,_  
_All that time, never even knowing,_  
_Just how blind I've been._ "

Patton swayed from side to side as he played. Roman watched him, fondly. He knew that this was the first song Patton had learned on his ukulele for his own enjoyment - he knew because he had been there when he did so. For years, the two had done everything together. Patton had supported Roman when he began to learn the violin, an instrument that he had had no choice but to play after being forced into it by his guardians (not that that had been bad, since he actually kind of enjoyed it). Roman had helped Patton pick out his very first ukulele, and encouraged him to learn what he _wanted_ to learn. The two boys had even wrote their first song together, which was what had first sprouted the idea that they should start a proper band.

" _Now I'm here, blinking in the starlight,_  
_Now I'm here, suddenly I see,_  
_Standing here, it's all so clear,_  
_I'm where I'm meant to be._ "

It also wasn't that big of a secret that the two had bonded over their love of Disney. At their age, in their environment, it was hard to find people that were so open about this particular love. However, they had to admit that they were happy that they found each other. This song explained it pretty nicely, actually. They were  _exactly_ where they were meant to be. 

" _And at last I see the light,_  
_And it's like the fog has lifted,_  
_And at last I see the light,_  
_And it's like the sky is new._ "

Patton was Roman's light. There was no argument in that. In a world where there was so many... unaccepting people, it was nice to have that beam of light. That beacon of hope. Patton was Roman's safe place. Patton meant everything to him. 

" _And it's warm and real and bright_ ,  
_And the world has somehow shifted,_  
_All at once, everything looks different,_  
_Now that I see you._ "

Patton joined in after the first chorus, putting it upon himself to sing Flynn's section. His voice wasn't _nearly_ as good as Roman's, but it had a sort of charm to it. Almost like a young child, without a care in the world. He has a higher pitch that Roman, which made him think that perhaps it should have been Patton singing as Rapunzel and Roman singing as Flynn, but they had already come this far.

" _All those days, chasing down a daydream,_  
_All those years, living in a blur,_  
_All that time, never truly seeing,_  
_Things the way they were._ "

Roman smiled as he watched Patton sing. Patton's eyes were fixed on the frets of ukulele, concentrating on where his fingers were pressed down and on when he should change, but Roman could still see the excited glimmer in his eye as he sang. As he sang  _their_ song. The song that had helped bring them together. It was all so perfect, so happy, so beautiful. Just like Patton himself. 

" _Now he's here, shining in the starlight,_  
_Now he's here, suddenly I know,_  
_If he's here, it's crystal clear,_  
_I'm where I'm meant to go._ "

Roman noticed the subtle change in pronouns, obviously to make the song relate more to their own experiences. He also noticed how Patton looked at Roman as he sung those line, and couldn't help but blush slightly. 

" _And at last I see the light,_ " the two sang together, their voices harmonizing, intertwining as one. 

" _And it's like the fog has lifted_ ," Patton sang, before Roman joined in for the next line. 

" _And at last I see the light,_ " he sang, and then, as Patton's voice faded out for a moment, " _a_ _nd it's like the sky is new._ "

The two stared at each other, smiling. They sang the rest together, with both their voices and their hearts in perfect sync. 

" _And it's warm and real and bright,_  
_And the world has somehow shifted._ "

The ukulele stopped for a moment, as the two just stared into each other's eyes. Roman couldn't help but to fall in love at that beautiful sight. He was fairly certain that Patton felt the same way. Patton continued playing as they sang the last couple of lines. 

" _All at one, everything is different,_  
_Now, that I see you._ "

Patton strummed the final chord, and the two grinned at each other.

" _Now, that I see you._ "

He placed the ukulele down. Roman reached over, wrapping his arms around Patton and pulling him closer into a warm hug. A light blush spread across the smaller boy's cheeks. Roman pressed his lips against the forming blush, which only made Patton turn more red.

"Roman, as much as I love you and want to kiss you right now, my parents are in the house and could walk in at literally any moment," Patton stated, playfully wriggling against Roman's grasp.

"So? It's not like they'll have a problem with it."

Roman fell back onto the mattress, dragging Patton with him. They turned to face each other, goofy smiles still spread across their faces. Patton began to mindlessly fiddle with Roman's rainbow curls. The taller boy didn't mind - it was something he had grown used to over the years, and actually one of the many things that he found endearing about Patton.

"You talk like you know my parents better than I do," Patton whispered.

Roman rolled his eyes. "Well, yeah, surely you know by now that your mum and I meet up every other Sunday for coffee."

Patton fake-gasped. "Hey, how come I'm never invited to these dates?!"

"When else am I supposed to brag about you?" Roman defended. "I'm with you basically every moment of every day, I need _some_ time away from you... so that I can talk about you."

Patton laughed. "Yeah, of course you do!"

The two moved closer, and Patton allowed Roman to firmly press his lips against his. They stayed there for a few moments, perfectly content. Patton lips were soft, and warm - just like he himself. Roman could never get enough of that boy. They way he just seemed to radiate sunshine, to spread happiness with him wherever he went. It all felt so comfortable to Roman, that he could almost forget about the boy from earlier.

Almost.

The purple-haired boy was still lurking in the back of Roman's mind. It felt as if he was watching them, towering over the two lovers. Roman couldn't shake away the thought of him, couldn't erase that perfect picture that he had created in his head. Even from seeing him at such a distance, only for a split second, it seemed as if he had already memorised every detail. Every time the boy popped into his head, Roman was mesmerised by the mixture of plum, brown, and lilac strands falling in front of his dark eyes, like a galaxy being pulled into a black hole. And then the way that he ran like his very life depended on it, leaving behind a mysterious aura that Roman couldn't seem to get rid of. He wanted to know who the boy was. He _had_ to know.

Patton pulled away from him, and for a second Roman could have sworn he saw the boy sitting across from him. Then he realised that was ridiculous. The two looked nothing alike. Patton's features were smaller, rounder, almost childlike - he seemed to radiate innocence and happiness, but at the same time he must have been the most sensible and mature teenager that Roman knew. The stranger seemed to be the opposite of that, with his features sharp and pointed, and his skin nearly as white as paper, unlike the slightly tanned and freckled skin of Roman's companion. There was not a hint of that mesmerising purple on Patton's soft brown hair. The style of the two boys contrasted drastically, with Patton bursting with colour and light and _life_ , and the other boy hiding in shadows, releasing darkness and mystery. Patton was the sun, and the stranger was the moon. They could not be more different.

So why did Roman find them to be so similar? And why, when he thought of Patton, did the stranger pop into his mind?

"We need to find that boy tomorrow," Roman decided.

Patton smirked. "Of course, honey, we'll start looking first thing in the morning!" He bopped Roman's nose.

"It's just... he seems so _familiar_ , for some reason," he claimed. "I can't seem to get him out of my mind. It's killing me!"

"Now, now, Roman, there's no need to be so dramatic," Patton said sternly, although Roman had a hard time taking him seriously, especially considering Roman was almost double Patton's size, and the fact that they had just kissed each other senseless. "We'll find him, I'll make sure of it. You're not the only one anxious to find out more about him."

Roman nodded, and smiled at Patton, who quickly returned the smile.

"But, for now, how about you and I just relax for a bit. Watch a movie or two," Patton suggested.

"A Disney movie?!" Roman beamed.

Patton smirked. "You bet."


	3. Logan

The blue-haired boy's head perked up from his book as he heard the bell ring, signalling that a person had entered the Berry Café. The newcomer was a tall, slim boy, with his brown hair dyed purple on the fringe (although that was mostly covered up by his black hood) and near-black eyes. His dark clothing contrasted his pasty-white skin - it looked as if this guy didn't get out much, which made Logan question what he was doing in this small café, in public, at night.

Logan hopped up to the counter, and waited for the boy to make his way over to him. When he arrived, Logan faked a bright smile, and greeted him with, "Hello, how can I help you on this fine evening?"

"Espresso, the darker the better."

Logan sighed. He really did hate this place, when there were actual people. However, this person didn't seem all to willing to participate in social exchanges - at least, that's what Logan has gathered - so he thought that this might actually be bearable.

He got to work on the coffee, as the boy stood at the counter, staring at the floor, trying his best not to make any eye contact.

"And your name?" Logan asked.

The boys head shot up. "What?"

"I asked for your name," Logan repeated.

He hesitated. "W-why do you need my name?"

Logan sighed. Again. "Standard protocol."

"I'm literally the only person in here," he stated.

Logan smirked. This could actually be a bit of fun. "Well, what if I just want to know your name? As you stated, you are the only person in here. It can get a little lonely in this café. How do you know I don't want to exchange pleasantries?"

"'Exchanging pleasantries' isn't exactly my thing," the boy said.

"Besides," Logan continued, ignoring what the boy had just said, "you're unwillingness to tell me your name only heightens my curiosity."

He was silent for a moment, before replying with, "What will you do if I do tell you my name?"

"How about you tell me yours, then I'll tell you mine," Logan offered.

The boy was silent again. Logan raised an eyebrow. The purple-hair teenager groaned. "Ok, fine. You tell me yours first, though."

"It's Logan. Logan Berry."

"Logan _Berry_?" he repeated. "What, like the name of the café?"

Logan nodded. "Yes. My parents own this café. Which is why I work here most nights. They want me to take over the café when I leave school."

"Cool."

There was silence for a moment, before Logan finally said, "You still haven't told me your name."

"It's Virgil."

Logan smiled, as he wrote the name 'Virgil' down on the styrofoam cup in cursive writing.

"Virgil..." he muttered under his breath, then said louder, "That's the name of an old Roman poet that I am rather fond of."

"Really?" Virgil hummed. "That's... pretty cool, I guess."

Logan set down Virgil's cup on the counter. "That'll be £2.50."

Virgil handed Logan the money, and picked up his cup. "Do you mind if I sit in here and get some work done?" he requested.

Logan shrugged. "This is a public place, and the café remains open for another hour and a half. I cannot stop you, unless there is a good reason for me to do so."

"Thanks," Virgil said with a nod in Logan's direction, before sitting down at the closest table and taking his laptop out of his backpack.

Logan returned to his seat behind the counter, and picked his book back up. He continued to read throughout the night, occasionally glancing up to see if Virgil was still there. He didn't look as if he'd be leaving any time soon, even though he had finished his coffee a long time ago. Logan didn't mind - Virgil wasn't bothering him, so him being there wasn't much of a problem. However, eventually Logan began to become curious. What was Virgil working on? It must be important, seen as he'd been sitting there in silence for the past hour, working hard.

"You are a student, I presume?" Logan asked.

Virgil took out one earphone, and looked over at Logan. "Huh?"

"I asked if you are a student," Logan repeated.

Virgil nodded. "Yeah, I'm in the first year of Sixth Form. Studying English Literature, Chemistry, and Art."

Logan frowned. "How come I haven't seen you before?"

"Why would you have seen me before?"

"We're in the same year, studying one of the same subjects," Logan stated. "Surely I would have seen you in English Literature, considering there is only one class in our entire year group, and we both take part in it."

Virgil shrugged. "It's a pretty big class, and I rarely participate in class discussions. You probably just didn't notice me."

"Strange."

"Why are you so interested, anyway?" Virgil questioned.

"Well, I've been watching you work for over an hour, and I couldn't help but be curious as to what you were working on," Logan explained. "However, that does not look like anything to do with any of the three classes you mentioned."

"This isn't for school." That peaked Logan's curiosity even more. "It's just... a song I've been working on."

Logan raised an eyebrow. "And yet, you did not mention any subjects that have any relation with music."

Virgil groaned. "Look, it's just something I enjoy, ok? I don't want to do it for school. That would add stress, and take away the fun, and-"

"Calm down, I see nothing wrong with doing music on the side, I was just curious as to why."

"Well..." Virgil sighed. "It just calms me, alright? Now, can I please get back to work." Logan nodded, and didn't say a word more. After a moment of them just staring at each other, Virgil cleared his throat. "Also, can I have another coffee?"

"No problem," Logan said, as he stood up to make him a coffee. A moment later, another cup of coffee was set down on Virgil's table, and the blue-haired boy sat across from him. "Can I listen to your song?"

Virgil appeared to be lost for words. Logan figured that he must have been worried about him listening, which Logan did not want. This boy had the right to remain private with these things, of course. And he really seemed conflicted over it. Logan noticed a slight glint of fear in the boy's eyes. 

"Don't worry if you don't want me to," Logan said. "It's your work, and therefore you should be able to decide who is allowed to listen to it."

"I-I... you can l-listen to it..." It didn't sound like Virgil wanted him to. "If you w-want to, that is. It's not- It isn't that good. And it's, uh, nowhere near finished, so, like, I don't-" He took a deep breath, and shoved the laptop closer to Logan. "Listen."

Logan nodded. "I'll keep in mind that it is still a work in progress. Thank you for allowing me to listen."

Virgil nodded back, and unplugged his earphones. He pressed play on the track, and allowed the small café to be filled with sound. Logan felt Virgil staring at him for the entire three and a half minutes, watching his toes and fingers tap to the beat, and his straight face fade into a small smile. After the track died down, Logan looked over at Virgil, smiling.

"That was actually... quite pleasing, to listen to. It was incredibly enjoyable, Virgil," he complimented.

Virgil's worried expression faded into what must have been a smile. "Th-thanks." He sank into his chair, folding his arms. 

Logan stood up, and returned to behind the counter, sitting down and picking up his book. Virgil proceeded to plug his headphones back in.

"Hey, don't you want the money for the coffee?" Virgil said.

Logan shrugged. "You can have it on the house."


	4. Patton

A hand clasped down on Patton's shoulder, causing him to squeal in surprise. His heart racing, he looked behind him, and saw a boy with rainbow hair. Roman. It was just Roman. Cool. A wide smiled was pinned across Roman's face, and an excited twinkle was present in his hazel eyes.

"I found him!" Roman exclaimed.

"Huh?" Patton frowned. What was Roman talking about?

"The boy! Y'know, the piano dude!"

Patton stared at him. "What do you mean?"

Roman sighed. "Yesterday, after school," he explained, "we heard a guy playing piano whilst I was playing violin, but he escaped before we could talk to him. When we were at your house, we said that we would try to find him tomorrow, which is now today. And I _found him_! So close that damn book and come with me to talk to him!"

"Oh!" Patton nodded. "Yeah, I gotcha."

He stood up, and followed Roman out of the library, struggling to keep up as his companion's casual walk turned into a jog then a run.

"Hey, Ro, slow... slow down!" Patton shouted, between pants.

Roman laughed. "I'm not even running that quickly!"

"Yeah, but you're, like, tall," Patton argued, "and I'm short. You have longer legs."

"So?"

"And you are way more athletic than I am," he added.

Roman nodded. "True. Anyway, we're here now."

He pointed around the corner, over onto the field. A couple of metres away sat a purple-haired boy underneath a tree, with a book open on his lap and a pencil in his hand. It was the piano dude! Roman actually _did_ find him! Without Patton's help, as well, which he admired. The two boys were behind him, meaning if they did go up to him they would probably scare him. He wouldn't be able to see them coming. Patton didn't want to frighten him like that, but it seemed like they didn't have that much of a choice.

"You gonna go talk to him, then?" Roman whispered

Patton frowned. "I thought you wanted to talk to him."

"Yeah, I do, but you're the one who found him yesterday," Roman pointed out. "It would make more sense for you to go."

"Yeah, I found him and then he immediately ran away. I don't want to scare him again."

Roman sighed dramatically. "Fine. I shall go discover the mysteries of Piano Boy!"

Patton shook his head, smiling fondly, as Roman made his way around the corner and up to the boy. Patton followed a few steps behind, just in case Roman needed back-up.

"Hello," Roman greeted, smiling at Piano Boy.

Piano Boy frowned. "Hi?"

"I don't know if you will recognise my companion and I, but we couldn't help but want to talk to you after hearing your excellent piano last night after school."

Piano Boy's eyes widened, and he looked... scared, almost. Or embarrassed. Or a mixture of both, Patton couldn't decide - all he could tell for certain was that he looked on edge, and as if he wanted to get out of there.

"You... you guys heard it," Piano Boy whispered. "Oh God, I knew I should have checked the other rooms..." He hugged his knees. "Hey, could you guys do me a favour and, like, not tell anybody about last night?"

Roman giggled. "Actually, what we were going to ask you is if you wanted to... hang out with us. And, maybe... join this band we've been putting together."

Piano Boy shot up. "No. No way. I don't do group stuff. Especially not group stuff that may involve performing in front of other people. I don't even know who you guys _are_."

"Oh, sorry, we didn't introduce ourselves!" Patton chimed in, smiling. It seemed like Roman was stressing the poor boy out, which meant it was Patton's time to step in and calm the situation down with his unending optimism. "I'm Patton Sanders, and this is Roman Prince, and before we even think about the whole band situation, we wanted to invite you to come sit with us at lunch, or hang out after school, or something. We want to get to know you and stuff, you seem pretty cool. Unless, of course, you have other plans?"

There was silence for a moment, before Piano Boy shrugged. "I never have plans. And I suppose I could _maybe_ consider sitting with you guys for lunch. Maybe. So, uh, if you guys still want me then, I'll be under this tree."

He began to walk away. Patton and Roman looked at each other, both confused. So did he want to be friends with them or not? They still hadn't even found out his name, let alone anything about him.

"Hey, by the way, what's your name?" Patton shouted.

Piano Boy turned around. "You'll find out eventually," he said, before saluting and saying, "See ya," leaving the two boys alone under the tree.


	5. Virgil

Virgil glanced at the clock on his phone. He had arrived under the tree two minutes ago. Lunch had began five minutes ago. He hadn't seen the two boys since that morning.

Part of him hoped that they wouldn't show up. Another part of him desperately wanted them to keep to their promise. He didn't even know why. If anything, he should have been afraid. He didn't know these two people. He had no way of telling if they were to be trusted or not. If he was thinking rationally, he should have got up, and walked away to some obscure place of the school, where the two boys would never find him.

However, he figured that it was now or never. If they didn't show up, then fair enough. He would be continue to be alone for the remainder of his time at that school, possibly for the remainder of his life, which he was perfectly fine with. People sucked. Who's to say that these boys would be any different from anyone else?

On the other hand, if they _did_ show up, then he would have company at lunch, and possibly make a couple friends, or something along those lines. Just sitting with him would be proof enough that they weren't too bad. Besides, Virgil's standards for friends were pretty low. All he really looked for was someone who could deal with him as a person.

That, of course, didn't mean he still wasn't nervous. All he knew about them was one of them was pretty good on a violin, and they both thought his piano was good enough for him to be worth their time.

"Hey!"

Virgil nearly jumped out of his skin. A million questions raced to his mind. Who was there? What did they want? Why were they here? Where did they come from? When did they arrive?

"So are we doing this out here, or do you want to go inside?" the newcomer asked.

Virgil looked up. Brown hair, glasses, freckles... Patton, right? Yeah, Patton. The other guy was standing behind him - multicoloured hair, very tanned skin, kinda muscular frame. He was pretty sure that he had introduced himself as Roman.

"Shall we just sit out here, since we're all already together?" Roman suggested. "There's no reason to go back in."

Patton nodded, and the two boys sat down besides Virgil.

"Sorry we're a little late, kiddo, we had class on the other side of the school, and _somebody_ had to go 'talk' to the teacher." Patton glared at Roman.

"That was not my fault!" Roman claimed. "The kid besides me was _incredibly_ distracting, all I asked was for him to shut up."

"You got a detention," Patton reminded him.

"That was a small price to pay for my sanity."

Virgil felt the urge to just run away, get as far away from these weirdos as possible. Sure, they seemed like alright guys, but he felt as if he was intruding on their lives. They still didn't even know his _name_ , and here they were talking as if they had been friends with him for years? No, no way. Virgil wasn't prepared for that.

"Anyway," Patton turned back to Virgil, "here we are. Sorry if we scared you just showing up and stuff. And, again, sorry for being late."

"I-it's fine," Virgil said. "You weren't late, anyway. I, uh, I wasn't even expecting you to show up, so whatever."

Patton gasped. "Aw, no, why would you think that we wouldn't come?"

Virgil shrugged. "I dunno. I just... I didn't think I'd be worth your time." He brought his knees up to his chest, and wrapped his arms around his legs, almost as if he was protecting them. 

"Of _course_ you're worth our time!"

Virgil gave him a small smile. "Well, yeah, I guess so. That's probably why you came."

"You think you could tell us your name now?" Roman requested.

He groaned. "I, uh, guess I don't really have a choice in the matter?"

"I wouldn't say that," Roman replied. "There's nothing stopping you from standing up and walking away from us. And there's nothing forcing you to tell us your name. But, it would be nice if you stayed here and told us your name."

"Why wouldn't you want to tell us, anyway?" Patton asked.

"I-I dunno, it's a kinda embarrassing name, I don't really like it, and, like, I _just_ met you guys," he explained. There was silence for a moment. "Just, uh, promise you won't laugh?"

Patton nodded. "We promise."

Virgil looked over at Roman, who quickly nodded as well.

"Ok, so, uh, my name is..." He took a deep breath. "Virgil. Uh, Virgil Andrews. Or Verge for short. Whatever."

"Virgil..." Patton whispered, then smiled. "That's a beautiful name!"

Virgil felt heat rising to his cheeks, and hoped that his blushing would be hidden behind his white foundation. "Oh, uh, thanks."

The two boys went on to have some sort of conversation. Virgil wasn't really listening, or interacting with them. He just couldn't believe that someone was actually _sitting_ with him, for once. That never happened. Plus, they had stayed even after he had refused their offer, which was presumably why they had come to him in the first place. Speaking of, Virgil was actually beginning to consider saying yes to the offer. These two boys seemed genuinely nice, and kind. And it would give him an excuse to practise his piano, in a place that he knew for certain would be safe.

However, he felt as if that would be falling into their trap. Maybe the only reason they were still hanging around him was to make him want to join the band. Nope, he was _not_ going to go down that road.

"So, Verge, what do you think?" Patton asked.

Virgil looked over. "Huh?" He had no idea what Patton was talking about.

"Band practise," Patton stated. "Again, I'm not gonna force you to join or anything, but it'll be cool if you tagged along to listen."

"O-oh, right, uh..." He hesitated. Hanging out with Patton and Roman did sound tempting. But, at the same time, he felt anxious about the very thought of joining them. And, once again, he had  _only_ just met these guys. He wasn't one hundred percent certain that they could be trusted. And to go to 'band practise', or whatever, he would have to go with them to a location he had never been to before, possibly with no chance of escape. Still... this was his chance to actually make a friend, or multiple friends. It was now or never. "Sure."

He was probably going to regret that. 


	6. Roman

As he was the only person out of the pair to own a piano, band practise was held at Roman's house. Of course, it also helped that his guardians were going out for the night, meaning Roman would have the entire house to himself. And it was a _big_ house. His uncle was a politician, or something along those lines - Roman never really paid that much attention to him. Both his aunt and uncle were always busy anyway, so he never really had a chance to talk to either one.

"This is... a fancy house," Virgil stated, hanging towards the back of the group. "Are you, like, a literal prince, or something?"

Roman sighed. "That would be the dream, but, sadly no."

"I didn't even know people still _had_ these kind of mansions anymore..."

Roman shrugged. "It's been in my family for generations. And my aunt and uncle are kinda old-fashioned. And wealthy."

"What do they do?" Virgil asked.

"Uncle's a politician. Aunt runs a newspaper, or something. I don't know. I don't really talk to them much." Roman began to walk down the bush-lined driveway towards the house, with Patton by his side and Virgil closely behind. He had always found the house and surrounding gardens to be fairly pretty, with the white walls and plants of all colours growing as far as the eye could see. He was lucky to be able to live in such a beautiful place. Even if he would much rather be back in Spain, with his own parents. Although, that meant he would never have met Patton, so maybe moving here had been the better option. 

"No wonder, you probably can't even _find_ them in this place."

Roman laughed. "To be honest, that's probably for the best."

Virgil frowned. "What do you-"

"Nothing!" Silence spread amongst the group at Roman's sudden outburst. However, he didn't want to get into the issue. He quickly changed topic as the reached the front door. "Anyway, Virgil - Pat and I were gonna run through a couple songs, so... feel free to sit around and listen. I can get you a drink or something, if you want."

The three boys didn't speak again until everything had been set up. Roman led them up to the piano room on the second floor, where he had already set up a mic for himself, and a chair for Patton to sit on with his ukulele. Virgil took a seat by the piano - not that he was planning on playing it. No matter how much Roman wished to hear his piano-playing again, he knew it probably wouldn't happen. Virgil hadn't exactly seemed on board with this whole idea.

Roman clapped his hands to get the attention of the others. "Okay! So... Patton, do you wanna show Virgil the song we wrote?"

Patton grinned, and nodded enthusiastically.

"Wait, you guys wrote an entire song?" Virgil said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah, of course. We told you that we're starting up a band, what did you expect?" Roman replied, moving closer to his microphone. Not that that was really needed, since there was only three of them in a small room. The mic wasn't even on - it was really more for show.

Virgil raised his hand like he was about to make a point, before slowly dropping it. "Fine, that probably shouldn't be much of a surprise. Go ahead."

Patton began plucking at his ukelele, which soon turned into a happy strum. He began to hum a simple melody to go with the strum. After a couple moments, Roman joined in, singing the same melody in simple 'Da's. It actually didn't sound half bad.

Until it got to the first verse.

The song completely cut off, leaving the room in a deafening silence. Roman looked over at Virgil, who was just frowning in disbelief.

"So... what do you think?" Roman asked.

Virgil was silent for a moment, as he processed. "What... what _was_ that?"

"Our song, duh," Roman replied.

Virgil shook his head. "No, I mean... that was only, like, ten seconds long-"

"Fifteen, actually!" Patton chimed in, grinning widely.

"Yeah, sure, whatever..." Virgil took a deep breath. "Listen, it was great, or something, but... there wasn't any lyrics. That isn't really... a song. It was only fifteen seconds long!"

Roman groaned. "Okay, so _maybe_ the song isn't finished yet, but-"

" _Isn't finished_?" Virgil repeated. "Dude, you didn't even begin it."

" _Look_ , neither of us have any experience writing songs, it's _difficult_ ," Roman defended himself. "Trust me, once we figure out how lyrics work, we'll be able to finish the song. We already have the melody down, and, like, the instruments and stuff, and it's gonna be _amazing_ once it's actually done."

Virgil sighed. "What kind of band even is this?"

Patton raised his hand. "A good one?"

Virgil rolled his eyes. "If you guys want to actually get anywhere, you should probably find someone who can write."

"Oh my God, you're absolutely right- Roman, Virgil is smart!" Patton said, pointing over to Virgil.

It was then Roman's turn to frown in disbelief. Did this guy actually just come into _his_ house, and criticise _his_ band? And was Patton, his beloved Patton, really _agreeing_ with him? Roman couldn't believe it. He felt almost... betrayed.

"We don't need someone to write our songs for us," Roman stated, a tinge of anger in his voice.

Patton hummed. "Well... how about we let Virgil write them? Since he's joining the band and all."

"Wait, _what_?" Virgil exclaimed, his hand gripping tight onto his chair. "I, uh..."

"Yes, Patton, what?" Roman joined in. "Since when is Virgil joining the band?"

Patton cleared his throat. "Well, I mean, you were the first one to suggest that he joins, I don't know why you're so surprised."

"I-" Roman sighed. He couldn't deny that. "Yes, I suppose you are right, Pat. But... Virgil said himself that he _didn't want to join_."

"I'll join," Virgil said suddenly, before an awkward silence between the three. "I, uh, I mean, I'll join the band. Play piano, or whatever. But, uh... I'm not writing any songs."

Patton's eyes lit up, and he rushed over to Virgil, enclosing him in a tight hug. Roman watched as a light blush formed across Virgil's confused expression. Patton's grip tightened. Roman couldn't help but feel a little... no. He wasn't jealous. Why would he be jealous? He didn't know Virgil. Patton didn't know Virgil. At least, not properly. There was no reason for him to be jealous. Patton was allowed to hug people, Roman was totally fine with that. And Roman definitely _didn't_ want to hug Virgil himself, so it couldn't have been that. He was just confused. As usual, really. He tried not to think too much into it. 

"Uh, Pat, you, uh..."

Patton immediately let go and took a couple steps back, due to Virgil's response. Which made both Roman and Virgil sigh in relief.

"Well then, Virgil, I... Welcome to the band, I guess," Roman said, holding out his hand to shake.

Virgil took his hand, and shook it gently. "Thanks. I'll, uh, look forward to it, I think."

Patton grinned. "This is gonna be awesome!"


	7. Logan

The bell rang, signalling that someone had entered the café. It was ten at night, and Logan was just considering closing up. Of course that was the exact moment that someone decided to drop by. He sighed, and put down his book besides him, before standing up and making his way to the counter.

"Hello, how can I- Oh." It was the purple-haired boy from the night before. "It's you again."

Virgil smirked. "Yup. I'm back."

"That is... unexpected," Logan said, completely baffled. Which wasn't a common experience for him.

"How come?" Virgil asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I suppose I just did not think that you would return so soon. You were just here last night." Logan paused, before adding, "Which was also your first time here."

Virgil shrugged. "Clearly, I simply could not get enough of you."

Logan pushed his glasses up his nose. "How flattering of you."

"I-I didn't-" He groaned. "Ugh, whatever. Expresso, please."

Logan got straight to work, the room filling with silence as he poured out the coffee. He noticed Virgil's eyes shifting, glancing at the door and out the window. One of his hands was in his pocket, whilst the other was tugging at his bag.

"You seem on edge," Logan stated.

"I'm always on edge," he replied, completely monotonously.

"What I mean is," Logan continued, "you are looking out the window, as if you are waiting for someone, or possibly dreading someone arriving. Also, you are fiddling with your bag, which, correct me if I'm wrong, could be your way of dealing with stress, or nervous feelings."

Virgil stared wide-eyed at Logan. "I-I mean, y-yeah, I... I guess," he stuttered. "I, uh..." He rubbed the back of his neck, and sighed. "It's been a weird couple of days."

"Care to elaborate?"

"Not particularly."

Both boys stood perfectly still, neither knowing how to go on. Logan has figured that Virgil wasn't open to talk, so he didn't want to push him. This was Virgil's life, Virgil's privacy, and he should respect that. However, once again, he could not help but be curious. It was in his nature.

"I shall not force you, but may I advise that talking to someone about it may help," Logan said, placing Virgil's coffee down on the counter.

Virgil took the coffee, and handed Logan his money. "I, uh... I'll tell you in a bit. Have some stuff to do first."

Logan nodded. "Go ahead."

Logan returned to his book, as Virgil set up his laptop on the desk - almost the same as the previous night, however he was now facing the window instead. That just made it even more evident that Virgil was clearly watching out for someone. Logan found himself doing the same thing - every so often, glancing up at Virgil, and following his gaze to the window. He could barely concentrate on his book. 

He also noticed that Virgil's computer was now facing away from him, so he could no longer see what was displayed. That was probably his own fault, considering his actions the night before. Virgil probably hadn't been planning on allowing anyone to listen to his work. Logan understood that he had almost forced him to let him listen; that was part of the reason why Logan didn't want to force him to talk about whatever had happened.

Virgil ran his fingers through his hair, as he leant back in his chair. Logan realised that he hadn't even made it through one page.

"Are you alright?" Logan asked.

Virgil sighed. "I may have accidentally joined a band, and it's kinda stressing me out, and I regret my entire life."

Logan blinked. "How does one _accidentally_ join a band?"

"There's these two guys that, like, heard me practising yesterday, and this morning they kinda confronted me about it and invited me to join their band, and I couldn't exactly refuse even though I tried my damn hardest to refuse, and-"

"Calm down," Logan interrupted. "Take a deep breath."

Virgil didn't speak for a moment. Logan moved away from the counter, and sat down at the same table as Virgil. The purple-haired boy wouldn't look him in the eye, for some reason. His gaze was locked on the floor. 

"I... I guess it's not too bad. They seem like alright people," Virgil finally said, shuffling a little in his seat. 

"What are their names?" Logan inquired.

"Roman and Patton," Virgil replied.

Logan frowned. "Patton as in, Patton Sanders?"

Virgil nodded, but looked confused. "Yeah?"

He scowled. "So he and Roman are still a thing?"

"A thing?" Virgil repeated.

"A couple." Logan sighed. "I had almost forgotten about those two."

"They, uh, they didn't mention anything about being together," Virgil said.

Logan rolled his eyes. "They probably didn't need to say anything. They are _painfully_ obvious. And... sickeningly sweet."

Virgil just looked even more confused.

"I'm sorry," Logan said. "I used to be friends with them. Kind of. I was friends with Patton, at least. Roman was... strange. I never understood what Patton saw in him."

"Again, they did _not_ mention anything about being together, are you _sure_?"

"Yes, I am perfectly sure that they are a couple, or at least were in the past," Logan insisted.

Virgil shrugged. "Fair enough." He tapped his finger on the table in front of him. "Even so, they seem like alright guys. Pretty good musicians. They played a few Disney songs, which, again, were pretty good. Not so good at original stuff, though. Which is why I'm sitting here, trying to write a song that, at the very least, won't embarrass them."

Logan raised an eyebrow. "You're writing a song?"

He nodded. "Yeah?"

"I didn't know that you wrote," Logan stated.

"We've known each other for, like, twenty-four hours," Virgil pointed out. "And I don't write. I've literally never written a song in my life. This isn't going that well, either."

There was silence for a moment. Virgil hit his keyboard, kind of aggressively, before rapidly pressing backspace. Logan was pretty sure that he hadn't typed any actual words. Or maybe that was just his way of typing - Logan wasn't going to judge him. Although, the longer Logan watched, the more he saw just how stressed Virgil was. That probably wasn't good. And he thought that he might be able to help. 

"I write poetry," Logan stated.

Virgil looked up, confused. "And?"

"From what I understand, that is similar to song writing. Although I cannot help with the musical aspect, I am willing to participate in the creations of lyrics."

Logan could swear he saw Virgil's eyes light up. "Dude, are you serious?"

He looked at Virgil was a completely straight face. "I'm always serious."

"You should, like, meet up with the other two," Virgil suggested.

"Ah." He had made a good point. "I suppose you are right. If I am offering to be the bands lyricist, then meeting with all the members would be the best option."

"You go to the same school as me, right?" Virgil asked.

"Yes," Logan replied.

"Meet me by the tree behind the school," he requested. "Near the science base. At lunch." Virgil bit his lip. "Assuming you're free, of course. And, like, you actually want to do this. I'm, uh, I'm not gonna force you, it's your choice and all, I-"

"I'll come," Logan interrupted, mostly to stop Virgil from worrying about the situation.

"Cool," Virgil said quietly, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms.

He was completely still for a couple moments, before he glanced at the time and closed his laptop lid.

"Well, it's getting pretty late, I should probably head off," he stated.

Logan nodded. He looked out the window - it was dark, and there wasn't many cars out on the streets. Or street lamps, for that matter. After eleven or so, the area that the café was in was basically left in darkness.

"How are you getting home?" Logan asked.

Virgil stared at him, looking confused. "Walking?"

Logan shook his head. "It's too late to be walking home alone. Unless you live close."

"It's, like, a fifteen minute walk, or so. A couple streets across from this one," Virgil informed him.

Logan shook his head again. "Do you want a lift? Or, at the very least, someone to walk home with you?"

"Nah, I can walk, don't worry."

"No." Logan sighed. "I'm closing up after you leave, anyway. I'll give you a ride."

Virgil groaned. "You're not gonna let me leave if I don't say yes, will you?"

"Well, I cannot stop you from leaving, but I highly suggest that you accept my offer."

Virgil sighed. "Fine."

Logan smiled.


	8. Patton

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little trigger warning before we begin, this chapter does contain some homophobic assholes, and some family drama concerning said homophobic assholes, so just be wary of that.

"So," Patton began, looking into Roman's hazel eyes as they laid together in bed, "what d'ya think of Virgil?"

After Virgil had left, Patton had decided to stay at Roman's for the night. His aunt and uncle would be gone for the night anyway, and Patton couldn't bare the thought of Roman spending the night alone in such a big house. There was plenty of room for the two of them. Besides, Patton absolutely _loved_ his boyfriend's room.

All the lamps had been turned off, with the only light coming from the flickering candles in each corner and the fairy lights hanging around the frame of his four-poster-bed. His red covers were soft and warm (just like Roman), and his pure white pillows were just so squishy and poof-y and generally nice to lay on. Even in such a big room, everything seemed so cosy, and with Roman besides him everything was perfect.

"I mean, he's alright. A little irritating, but he's a good musician," Roman replied. "Plus, you've gotta admit he's pretty cute," he added, with a smirk.

Patton nodded. "Not as cute as you, though." He snuggled in closer to Roman. "You're the cutest."

"I disagree-"

"I disagree on you disagreeing," Patton interrupted.

Roman sighed. "You, Patton, are the cutest."

Patton blushed. "I-"

"Shush," Roman whispered, pulling Patton closer. "Just sleep."

"Okay." All was silent in the room, if only for a couple seconds. "Still, though, aren't you excited?"

"Of course," Roman said. "It's going to be different. Usually it's just us two."

"It'll be nice, though."

"It will," Roman agreed.

"I've always wanted another person. Another friend."

"Me too."

"And, like you said, he is a pretty good musician."

"He really is."

Patton closed his eyes. "I'm gonna go sleep."

He didn't see, but Patton imagined that Roman was smiling fondly. "Good night, my princess."

"Good night, my prince."

* * *

Patton's eyes fluttered open as sunlight seeped into the room through an open curtain, which was swaying in the slight breeze coming in through the window. He looked around, still sleepy, until a sudden realisation hit him. This wasn't his room. This wasn't his bed. This...

He sighed in relief. It was Roman's room - he remembered that now. After band practise, he had stayed over at Roman's place. They had talked, cuddled, been happy in each others presence until they had fallen asleep. And now they could spend the morning together, go to school together, nothing different from the norm really. Patton loved everything that he had going with Roman. 

Patton turned over, only to find that Roman was missing. His face fell, and his heart began to race. He shot up, and ran out of the room and down the corridor, rapidly turning side head from side-to-side, looking around the corridors and each room in order to find his boyfriend. He rushed down the stairs and into the kitchen, and stood dead in his tracks upon finding him. Roman leant back on the table, laughing at Patton.

"Finally awake, I see?" he said.

Patton smiled, but then remembered that he was annoyed at Roman, and pouted. "You worried me."

"Is a guy not allowed to get up early to cook breakfast for the love of his life?" Roman asked, still laughing.

Patton immediately regained his smile, and lost any negative feelings he felt for Roman in that moment. "You made us breakfast?"

"What can I say, I am an amazing boyfriend."

"What did you make?" Patton asked, walking over and taking a seat at the table.

Roman gestured to the plate sitting on the table. "Pancakes."

Patton gasped, and looked up at Roman happily. Then, he frowned. "Wait, what time did you get up to make these?"

"As soon as the sun rose up into the sky," Roman said, sounding rather dramatic. He always sounded dramatic - that was one of the many things that Patton loved about him.

"Isn't that, like, at five in the morning, though?"

"Patton, sweetie, it's only half six now," Roman pointed out.

The kitchen was completely silent for a moment, before Patton replied, "I mean, I guess you're right..."

Roman laughed. "Well, tuck in!"

Patton stood up and made his way closer to his lover, leaning in closer to give him a small peck on the lips. Roman took his hand, and pulled him closer, kissing him passionately. It was as if the two boys had entered a whole new plane of existence - nothing could stop them from loving one another, and they were perfectly happy, completely free.

It was at that moment that the door swung open, and footsteps could be heard against the cold, hard floor. Roman pulled away - Patton could practically hear Roman's heartbeat speed up. They two boys looked over to the door, as Roman's aunt and uncle walked straight in.

Roman moved away from Patton, and smiled at his guardians. "Hello," he greeted, his voice slightly shaky. "I wasn't expecting you to be back so soon."

His guardians didn't reply, or even looked at him - they were both staring at Patton. Not knowing what else to do, Patton gave them a small wave. That probably wasn't what he should have done. These people probably didn't want to see him there. He probably should have left the night before, like he would usually do. He didn't stay at Roman's place. He knew exactly why he  _couldn't_ stay at Roman's place. 

Roman glanced at Patton, and then back up at his aunt and uncle, walking up towards them. "This is my friend, Patton," he introduced.

"Your _friend_ ," his uncle repeated, "who you kiss?"

Roman laughed, nervously. "Is that not what friends do?"

His aunt cleared her throat. "And, Roman, what exactly is this... _friend_ , of yours, doing in our kitchen at half six in the morning?"

"He stayed over last night," Roman stated.

"You know we don't like having people over," his uncle mentioned.

"Well, you weren't home, and he really isn't that much trouble. Besides, we were just about to head off to school, weren't we, Pat?" Roman looked behind him, staring at Patton with a pleading-look in his eye.

Patton nodded. "Yes, Mr and Mrs Prince! We were literally just about to leave." He walked over to join Roman.

"So," Roman said, smiling, "if you would just kindly let us... squeeze past, a little-"

His uncle grabbed Roman's wrist - Patton could see Roman wince slightly. Patton stepped back, a wave of fear rushing through him, paralyzing him to the spot. 

"Go up to your room, Roman," his uncle said, a hint of anger in his deep voice. "I'll deal with you later."

"But-"

"Roman."

There was a deafening silence. A moment later, all that could be heard were footsteps echoing through the kitchen, as Roman left the room.

Roman's uncle turned to look at Patton, his face almost red with anger. "And, you. What's your name?"

"Uh... P-Patton, sir. Patton S-Sanders," he stuttered.

"I'll be contacting your parents," the uncle threatened. _Not much of a threat,_ Patton thought, but didn't say anything. "Now leave. Don't ever talk to my nephew again."


	9. Virgil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little trigger warning before we begin, there is a description of an almost-panic attack, and implied homophobia, following on from the last chapter.

Logan was already standing under the tree when Virgil arrived. He paused in his tracks upon seeing the blue-haired boy, stunned that he had actually shown up. Shown up _early_ , as well. That was commitment.

Virgil took several deep breaths in attempt to compose himself. He was going to introduce Logan to Roman and Patton - even though Logan already knew them both. Now that he thought about it, he realised how much of a terrible idea it was. These three clearly had some history, and Virgil didn't think it was exactly... good. In fact, Logan has sounded kinda angry the night before - or, more accurately, _bitter_. He didn't seem impressed that Roman and Patton were apparently dating. Virgil wasn't keen to see the reactions of the others upon reuniting.

Still, Virgil walked up to Logan, and nodded in greeting. "You're early," he pointed out.

"You requested for me to meet you at the beginning of lunch. Lunch period started-" He looked down at his watch. "-two minutes and thirty six seconds ago."

Virgil shook his head. "Dude. You know that the other two probably won't even show up for, like, ten minutes."

"I disagree."

Virgil frowned. "What-"

Logan pointed behind Virgil. "There is a boy walking up the hill right now, short, brown hair, glasses. I assume that is Patton. However, I do not see Roman approaching."

Virgil stared blankly at Logan. "How could you possibly know-"

"I used to be friends with him, remember?" Logan reminded in.

Virgil felt something weigh down on his shoulder, causing him to duck and jump away a couple inches. He turned around, and saw the boy who had arrived. Brown hair, glasses, freckles. Patton. It was just Patton. Exactly as Logan had said. Virgil took several deep breaths to calm himself down. Patton must have just, like, swung his arms around Virgil shoulders, or something. Not exactly something he was used to. Also kind of surprising, since Patton was at least a couple feet shorter than him. 

Patton looked concerned. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you-"

Virgil shook his head. "I-It's fine, Pat." He gave him a weak smile.

Patton breathed a sigh of relief, and grinned at Virgil. He then looked over to Logan. "Who's this?"

Logan raised an eyebrow. "Do you not remember, Morality?"

His eyes opened wide in shock. "Wait, are you-"

"Logic. We were friends, remember?"

Virgil frowned. "Morality? Logic?" That made no sense.

"Nicknames," Patton quickly explained. "But... Logan! It's so good to see you!" He smiled, his tone suddenly excited.

"As with you," Logan said. "Where is Roman?"

Patton's face fell. "Oh... yeah, that. He's, um, kind of being held hostage?"

All of a sudden, Virgil's heart rate increased until all he could hear was the pounding in his chest. He was _what_?! Why was he being held hostage? And by who? Was he ok? Virgil looked over at Patton, desperately hoping for reassurance. Surely he had been joking? There was no way that Patton could be so calm about this. Oh God, what had happened, would they be ok, how would Roman-

"Don't worry, Virgil, it's nothing serious," Patton claimed, speaking in a soft voice. "Roman will be alright. We'll be alright. We just... we can't rehearse at Roman's place anymore. And we'll have to go and, like, break Roman out of his house."

 _He's trapped in his_ own _house?_ No words could come out of Virgil's mouth. He tried to speak, he really did, but he just _couldn't._ They... They had to go get Roman. They had to make sure he was ok. That was their top priority.

Why did he even care so much about this kid? He barely knew him. Why was he more worried than _Patton_ , Roman's actual _boyfriend_? Surely Patton should be freaking out the most right now, but no. Virgil, this idiot, was almost on the verge of a panic attack. This was stupid, he was stupid, this entire situation with Roman was stupid, and it was all his fault for _actually caring when nobody else was._

"Virgil, breath," he heard Patton say. "Breath in for four second, hold for seven seconds, breath out for eight seconds."

Virgil attempted to do so. Patton knew what he was talking about. Patton knew exactly how to fix this. Virgil just had to listen, and do what he was told. Everything would be _fine_.

 _Nothing_ would be fine! Not when Roman was in danger.

"Roman isn't in danger," Patton promised. That was exactly what Virgil needed to hear - it was almost as if Patton could read his thoughts. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing. "We can get him out, ok?"

There was a few minutes of silence. Virgil's heart had slowed back down to a semi-normal pace. His mind was no longer screaming a thousand different things. A tiny sense of logic had come back. Roman was at home, right? So there was nothing to be afraid of. They knew exactly where Roman was, and it shouldn't be too hard to get him back. Roman would be fine.

"What ha-" Virgil stopped, a lump forming in his throat. He still couldn't speak. He suddenly became aware of the tears staining his face. That was gonna smudge his make-up. Great.

"Sit down," Patton requested.

Virgil did so. Soon after, Patton and Logan said down with him, the group sitting in a triangle.

"Patton," Logan began, speaking for the first time in what seemed like forever, "do you mind telling us what has happened with Roman?"

"He..." Patton sighed. "It was my fault, really. I stayed with him last night, 'cause his guardians were out and stuff. We weren't expecting them to be back in the morning, but there they were. They, uh, found out about me and Roman, and... they weren't impressed, to say the least."

"Did they not know-"

Patton shook his head. "Roman knew that they would kick him out if he told them. I don't know what will happen now that they _do_ know."

"We..." Virgil took a deep breath. He had calmed down enough to speak, he thought. His voice was still quiet, though. "We need... to get him."

"I agree with Virgil," Logan stated. "Even though I haven't seen him in years, I can't help but worry after hearing that story. One of us should at least visit his house to see if he is alright."

"Well, I can't go," Patton said.

Logan nodded. "That is understandable. However, I believe that I am also not the right person to go. He probably doesn't even remember me. Besides, he never particularly... We never really liked each other. I don't think."

Patton gasped. "You didn't like each other?"

"We did," Logan replied, completely contradicting himself. "However, there was always tension between us, considering your relationship with him and your friendship with me."

"I... I mean, I guess that makes sense..."

"Whatever the case, I think that Roman would be too surprised upon seeing me. Meaning-"

"I'll go," Virgil said, knowing that that is what it would come too.

Patton turned his head towards him, looking him straight in the eye. "Are you sure, Virgil? I wouldn't want you doing anything that you're uncomfortable with."

Virgil nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. I feel more uncomfortable _leaving_ Roman there."

He smiled. "Ok. I'll come with you, though."

"As will I," Logan added. "Patton and I could wait a couple streets away, at least. Or even just outside the house, in case of emergencies."

Virgil stood up, and turned around, starting to walk away from their tree. He couldn't wait any longer.

He heard Logan call his name. "Where are going?"

Virgil's head shot around. "I'm going to get Roman. Like we planned."

"We still have the rest of the school day," Logan reminded him.

"And? This is more important!"

"Nothing is more important than a person's education, Virgil." He pushed his glasses up his nose. Virgil couldn't tell whether that was intentional or not.

"Does it _look_ like I care?" Virgil shook his head, turning away. "I'm not gonna be able to concentrate knowing Roman could be in danger. I'm _going now_."

He walked away, leaving the other two behind.

* * *

Virgil paused outside of the gate to the Prince family mansion. He took out a wipe, and washed of his eyeshadow - half because it was ruined at this point, and half because he was afraid of what Roman's guardians would think of it. Although, he did keep on his foundation. There was no way he was going to get rid of that. No matter what these assholes thought about it. It suddenly dawned on him that he was _actually about to do this_. He was going to knock on the door, which would most likely be answered by a stranger, and then ask about Roman, and said stranger would most likely respond in the negative. Because why would they let Roman go if _they_ were the people who trapped him in the first place?

This was a terrible idea. Why had Virgil ever thought that this could work.

A hand landed on his shoulder. He jumped forward, and turned around, clenching his fist just in case.

"Virgil." It was Patton.

Virgil sighed. "Patton." He gave him a nod in greeting.

"Logan stayed at school," Patton explained, "but I figured that somebody should come with you. Logan said that he'd tell the teachers that we went home sick."

"But, we didn't-"

"You had a panic attack," Patton stated.

"Ugh." Virgil groaned. "Please... don't talk about that."

Patton nodded. "Ok. But even so, we couldn't just leave without an excuse. Logan promised he'd sort it out."

Virgil smiled slightly, before turning back to the gate. He took a deep breath. Was he actually going to do this? He didn't really have a choice. Besides, he had come this far.

"Wish me luck," he whispered, before walking through the gates and down the driveway. He didn't stop to look around until he reached the door - he just kept walking at the same pace, head straight forward.

Once he reached the front door, Virgil paused, again. His finger hovered over the doorbell. His hand was shaking. What was he even going to say? _Hey, you kidnapped my friend's boyfriend, please let him go._ No. That was stupid. He was stupid, stupid Virgil, what was he think-

The door opened. For a moment, he forgot how to breath. An older woman was standing in the doorway, looking annoyed and... almost angry. Virgil took a step backwards.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" the woman said, impatiently.

"I-I-" Virgil took a deep breath, regaining his ability to absorb and let out air like a normal person. "I'm Virgil. Virgil Andrews."

"And you are here, because?"

He bit his lip. "Um, does... does Roman Prince live here?"

"I know no such person," the woman said, her face completely deadpanned.

"B-But, I-"

"Virgil?" Virgil looked up, seeing a person appear behind the woman. Roman. He smiled. "Virgil, you're here."

The woman shot around, glaring at Roman. "Go back to your room! You heard what your uncle told you!"

"Yeah, well, he's not here right now."

"Roman!"

"I'm going with Virgil," Roman stated.

The woman - presumably Roman's aunt, Virgil had come to believe - gasped in surprise. "What has gotten _into_ you, Roman? First that... that _boy_ , and now just leaving whenever you please? This is _not_ how we raised you."

"I never asked to be raised by you," Roman retorted, "and I'm not moving until I can go with Virgil. This is important, Aunt."

"Who even _is_ this... _Virgil_ kid?" his aunt asked.

"He's my tutor," Roman lied, convincingly. Virgil could see what he was doing - they needed an excuse to get out of there. An excuse that preferably did not include anything about Patton, or the band.

His aunt hummed in thought.

"Please," Roman begged, "let me go with him."

She turned to Virgil. "And where exactly shall you be taking him?"

"Oh, well, uh-" _Oh God why did she ask that why would I know what do I do-_

His phone buzzed. Muttering a slight apology to Roman's aunt, Virgil took out his phone, and turned around, his eyes glancing over the message. It was from Logan. He sighed in relief - that was his chance to name a place.

"Berry Café," Virgil replied. "The other member of our... uh, our study group, just arrived there." He hoped that she brought it.

"And this other member is?"

"Logan Berry," Virgil quickly said. "His parents own the café."

Roman's aunt sighed. "Fine. Roman, I'll be there to collect you at eight. I'll also provide transport to take Virgil home. Don't do anything stupid. And _don't_ meet up with that... _boy._ "

"Yes, Aunt. Thank you." She left him pass, and the two boys walked down the driveway, away from the house. Straight towards Patton, the very boy that they had been told to avoid.


	10. Roman

Roman immediately enclosed Patton in a hug upon laying eyes on him. They had walked a few streets down to meet up with him, so that there was less of a chance of Patton being spotted with Roman. However, at this point he didn't care. He was just happy to see him again.

He kissed Patton on the forehead, and pulled him closer, stroking the hair on the back of his boyfriends head.

"Pat, I'm so glad to see you," Roman whispered. He drew back, placing his hands on Patton's shoulders and looking him in the eye. Patton looked up at him, smiling. Roman couldn't help but smile back. However, the smile soon faded, and the brief period of happiness turned to worry. "Are you okay?"

Patton nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. But, are _you_ okay?"

"I'm sorry," Roman immediately said, "about this morning. I... I should have known they would have been there."

"It's not your fault, Roman," Patton replied. "Seriously, don't worry. We're both fine, and we're both here."

Roman shook his head. "But-"

Patton silenced him by planting a kiss on his lips. A long, passionate kiss. A blush crept up to his face, as the unexpected event took place, but he found himself melting into the kiss, wrapping his arms around Patton's waist. He picked the smaller boy up, and spun him around a few times, with Roman twirling on one foot. Once Patton was safely back down on the ground, the two pulled apart in a fit of giggles.

"I love you, my prince," Patton said.

"I love you too, my princess," Roman replied, "and nobody can stop me from doing that." He was smiling wide, and was in a much better mood than before. Patton just had that kind of aura - whenever Roman was around him, his heart soured, and all he could do was smile. Patton was like his own little personal sunshine, always there to brighten up his day. Even when things were really not going well.

"Okay, this is real sweet and all," somebody interrupted, "but we should really be heading over to Logan."

Roman looked over to the source of the voice. Virgil. Of course, he was still there. It suddenly dawned on him that they probably should have left for the café ages ago, considering they only had until eight, and at that point Patton had to be gone. His aunt couldn't see him with Patton - that would be a death wish.

"Hey, Pat, uh... I should-"

"Roman," Virgil said. "Talk when we're walking." He continued to walk down the street. The other two boys followed, remaining a couple paces behind Virgil.

"I should tell you," Roman continued, "that we, uh, can't be seen together by my aunt. She's picking me and Virgil up from the café at eight, so, like, you gonna have to be out of sight by that point."

Patton nodded. "Okay."

"You're... okay with that?"

"Yup." He smiled. "I wouldn't want you getting into trouble. And I can always just hide in the back when your aunt arrives. Logan would probably let me."

"Oh, yeah, about that," Roman said, suddenly deciding to change the topic, "who is this Logan fellow?"

"Logan Berry!" Patton answered. "Remember him? He used to be friends with us?"

Roman frowned. "You mean that nerdy dude who used to follow you around everywhere?"

"He was my _friend_ , Roman," Patton stated.

Roman smirked. "Didn't you have a crush on him at some point?" he teased, nudging Patton slightly.

Patton blushed. "N-no, that didn't-"

"You spent at least an hour gushing about him every day for a month," Roman reminded him.

Patton sighed, and laughed a little. "Ok, yeah, you have a point."

"And, I'm pretty sure he also had a crush on you."

"No," Patton said in disbelief. "That... that didn't happen."

"Please, I saw the way he looked at you." Roman smiled. "He seemed pretty upset when we starting dating, as well."

"Well..." Patton hummed. "You had a crush on him as well at some point, right?"

Roman shook his head. "Nah. I just liked to stare at him from time to time. He was an attractive guy. Even if he did make me want to scream in annoyance whenever he spoke."

"Firstly," Virgil chimed in, turning around turning around to face them and in turn beginning to walk backwards, "that's the literal definition of a crush. Secondly, what the hell is wrong with you two? Like, I thought you guys were dating. Why are you discussing your respective crushes on the same friend?"

Patton shrugged. "There shouldn't be a limit to the amount of people that you love."

Virgil frowned. "What do you-"

"Both of us are open to allowing more people into our relationship," Roman added. "As long as we're both okay with it, of course. Because, as Patton said, there should not be a limit to the amount of people that a person falls in love with. You should be able to spread your love around as much as possible."

Virgil hummed in thought. "That's... interesting."

"And, in the case of Logan," Patton continued, "I think both of us would have been happy to let him into the relationship, but... we kinda drifted apart, or something. I think he was afraid."

Roman snorted. "He was jealous, Patton. Jealous that _we_ were together. That's why he left."

"But... he knew that we both loved him," Patton stated.

"I don't think he even knew was love _meant_ ," Roman replied.

"Guys," Virgil interrupted, "we're here."

Roman blinked. "Oh, yeah, uh..."

A bell rang as Virgil opened the door. He walked in, with Roman and Patton following closely behind. The café was almost empty, asides from an older couple sitting in the corner and a blue-haired man standing behind the counter. That must have been Logan. He had kept the blue hair. Roman couldn't help but smile at that.

"Hey, Logan!" Roman greeted, making his way towards him. "Long time, no see." He leant over the counter, holding his chin on one hand.

Logan frowned. "God, you're hair is even more ridiculous than before."

"Says the dude with bright blue hair," Virgil said, coming up behind Roman.

"And then we have your hair, which is the most eye-catching shade of purple I've ever seen in my life," Logan retorted. "Even so, this-" He gestured to his hair. "-is entirely Roman's fault. Back when we still hung out, he went to get his hair dyed red, and forced me to come along. So this happened."

"Has it not, like, faded?" Virgil asked.

Logan sighed. "I suppose I become attached, much to my own annoyance. I simply cannot imagine myself without it anymore, though."

"Hey, it totally suits you!" Roman complimented. "Making you dye it blue was the best decision of my life."

Logan shrugged. "If that's what you think, Roman."

"Also, what do you mean my hair is 'ridiculous'," he asked, frowning.

"I'm just stating a fact."

"Ugh, this is why I never liked you," Roman mumbled.

"Isn't that nice of you to say."

"Guys, we just got here, stop fighting!" Patton came up besides Roman, finally joining the group.

There was a silence between the four. The old couple stood up and left, leaving the group alone. Roman sighed in relief.

"So, Logan, why are you here?" he asked.

"I work here," Logan stated.

Roman groaned. "Yes, I know, but why are you _here_ with _us_?"

"He's gonna be the lyricist for the band," Virgil quickly explained. "I, uh, was talking about it to him last night, and he offered."

Logan nodded. "Virgil is correct."

Patton smiled. "That's awesome!"

"Indeed." Logan bent down, and took a book out from under the counter. "In fact, I already have some lyrics down for a song, if you guys are interested in trying it out."

Virgil raised an eyebrow. "Already? It's been less than twenty four hours."

"I knew I'd be meeting with you all, so I wanted to come prepared," Logan said.

"Show us, then!" Patton exclaimed, excitedly.

Logan nodded, and opened the notebook, flipping to a page around a quarter of the way through. He turned it around, and laid it on the counter, pushing it forward slightly for the others to read. Roman glanced over the words, before looking back up at Logan, almost lost for words.

"Dude, this is... amazing."

Logan smiled, slightly. "Well, yes, I wrote it."

"But..." Roman took a deep breath. "It has so much _emotion_! Who did you base this on?"

"Patton," Logan stated.

"Huh?" Patton's head shot up.

"I based it on Patton," Logan repeated.

Roman frowned. "What? But... why?"

"Well, I knew that you would be singing, since you are the lead singer, and I was also under the impression that you and Patton are dating," he claimed. "So, since this is clearly a love song, I figured it would be best to write it about Patton, from your perspective, in order to help you find the right mindset to sing with as much emotion as possible."

"But... this is so..."

"Aw, Lo!" Patton gushed. "Do you, like, have a crush on me?"

"No, of course not, that would be ridiculous." He folded his arms.

"As ridiculous as Roman's hair?" Virgil said, frowning slightly. He moved closer to Logan.

Logan shook his head. "No, Roman's hair had nothing to do with this. Making that comparison would be, quite simply, stupid."

"Dude." Roman laughed. "You totally have a crush on Patton."

"You do realise that you are saying this about me despite you and Patton being in an established and, I'm assuming, committed relationship."

"Why would that change anything?" Patton asked.

"You're..." Logan looked lost. "You two are dating. Did I not make that clear? Even if I did, hypothetically, have a 'crush' on you, Patton, do you really believe I would act upon those thoughts, considering your relationship with Roman?"

Neither Patton nor Roman knew how to respond to that. Roman honestly didn't blame Logan for thinking that way. It was pretty clear to him that Logan was interested in Patton, but he supposed Logan would be too afraid to act upon that. He was right in saying that Patton was dating Roman, and therefore it would make sense to not then pursue a possible relationship with Patton.

It was just a shame that Logan didn't understand what the two of them were implying. Because, yes, Roman would have been happy to allow a relationship to form between Patton and Logan, especially since Logan probably had a crush on him way before Roman was introduced into the entire equation. However, he had a feeling that Logan wouldn't feel comfortable in that situation. Which was totally fine.

"Hey, guys, uh, sorry to cut this conversation short," Virgil said, "but Roman's aunt is arriving in, like, an hour and a half, so we should probably, y'know, get stuff done."

Roman hummed in thought. "Yeah, you're right," he decided. "You guys wanna try out the song?"


	11. Logan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song used in this chapter is called 'Slip Away', written by myself and composed by @digitally-analog over on Tumblr. You can listen to it here: https://soundcloud.com/omniscient-music/slip-away/s-0Qe0J (honestly, it's amazing, they did an awesome job on this I'm still in awe over it all)

Logan clapped his hands together. "Are you all ready?"

The Berry Café had all the necessary equipment for a band rehearsal. There was a piano and a microphone set up in the far corner, which was sometimes used for music acts. Logan was happy to allow the three boys to use the stage there to practise, and had promised to let them use it again in the future - although, at that point he was mostly just excited to hear his song performed. Patton had also brought his ukulele with him, meaning they had everything that they needed.

They only had around fifteen minutes before they would need to prepare to leave. Well, technically they had twenty before Roman's aunt should arrive, but they would need time to pack any equipment away, and hide Patton. Emphasis on the hiding Patton - failing to do that could result in... something bad happening to Roman. What that would be, Logan didn't know, but based on the facts he was aware of, he knew it wouldn't be good. He didn't particularly want Roman to get hurt just for being in the same room as Patton.

In the time between stopping their (awkward) conversation and Logan setting the rehearsal off, the three of them had tried out their separate parts, mostly just to check out what would work and whether or not they could fit it all together. As far as Logan knew, the three of them had managed to put something rough together, but he knew it wouldn't be perfect first try. They had yet to play the full thing - in fact, they had literally only been given the lyrics hour or so ago. There was no way they would have it all sorted out.

Logan couldn't wait, though. He just _had_ to see what they would come up with.

The three band members gave a collective nod, and Logan smiled. "In that case, take it away."

Roman stepped up to the microphone, standing just behind Virgil on piano. In the last twenty minutes or so, Virgil had quickly scribbled down a rough version of the sheet music, which Logan presumed Roman must have been going off. Patton had jotted down the chord pattern, and had that resting on the ground below his seat.

Logan watched as Roman tapped against the side of his leg, and Virgil mouthed, "One, two, three, four."

Patton strummed the first chord, signalling the beginning of the song. Logan leant forward in his chair, placing his chin on his hand in anticipation. A song that he _himself_ had written, being performed right in front of him! A song about, and he'd admit this, a person who, yes, he may had had a slight crush on in previous years. Or, something like that. He wasn't sure.

" _One,_  
_Day,_  
_I saw you standing across,_  
_The field and I watched,_  
_My world slip away._ "

Roman's vocals were nice, Logan had to admit that. He had a voice that was somehow soothing. Deep, soft, gentle. That, added to Logan's lyrics, was almost perfect.

" _One,_  
_Day,_  
_I saw your bright light burn,_  
_And I felt the world turn,_  
_And I slipped away._ "

However, that didn't stop Logan from feeling that something was... off. Considering what the song was about, and _why_ he had originally wrote it. It didn't sound right coming from Roman's mouth.

" _Each moment I see you,_  
_Each moment I love you,_  
_Each day I fall deeper, deeper,_  
_In love_ _,_  
_And my world slips away._ "

It wasn't supposed to be sung like that. It wasn't even written _to_ be sung.

" _One,_  
_Day,_  
_Your eyes start to glitter,_  
_And I start to whisper,_  
_That it'll all be okay._ "

Logan thought back to the day he wrote the song. On that day, he was feeling particularly... emotional, which was a rare occasion for him. Patton was there, being the perfect boy that he always was, and Logan couldn't help himself. He didn't understand the aching in his chest, but somehow the words just came out.

" _One,_  
_Day,_  
_Your smile warms my heart up,_  
_A_ _nd I start to burn up,_  
_It'll all be okay._ "

Logan didn't even fully understand the lyrics. Or the words, whatever. It wasn't supposed to be a song. He wrote it was a poem. Why he had decided to hand that over to Roman, he would never know. Still, he couldn't remember how he wrote it. Again, it just came out. And now it was coming in again, and Logan didn't know how to handle it, and-

" _Each moment I see you,_  
_Each moment I love you,_  
_Each day I fall deeper, deeper,_  
_In love_  
_And my world slips away._  
_My world slips away-_ "

Logan took a deep breath.

" _And I think I could have you,_  
_I think I could see you,_  
_I know you'd be happy, happy,_  
_In love with me,_  
_As our world slips away._  
_Our world slips away._ "

There was something in the corner of his eye. Something wet. A tear? No, why would that be there...

" _But I look in your eyes,_  
_And I realise,_  
_That the world will stay._ "

It _was_ a tear. Logan was crying, as he listened to Roman's voice. Why? Why was that happening? Logan shouldn't have been feeling that way. He _wasn't_ feeling that way. He was actually enjoying the song, an awful lot. It would make no sense...

" _I look in your eyes,_  
_And I realise,_  
_That the world will stay._ "

Now that he thought about it, Logan had cried on that day, too. When he was alone, and realised that it could never happen between them. He loved Patton, he really did. He thought that Patton loved him too.

" _And each moment I see you,_  
_Each moment I love you,_  
_Each day I fall deeper, deeper_  
_In love with you,_  
_And my world slips away,_  
_Our world slips away._ "

Roman was there. That's why Patton could never love Logan, and why Logan could never have Patton. It wouldn't work.

Perhaps the reason why this song was affecting Logan so much was the fact that _Roman_ was singing it. Roman, the person who prevented this song from having the happy ending it deserved. Roman, the person who stole the heart that should have belonged to him.

" _Some,_  
_Day,_  
_I'll see you across,_  
_The field and I'll watch,_  
_As the world just,_  
_Stays._ "

The song slowed to a stop. Patton strummed the final chord, Virgil played the final note. Logan wiped the tears from his eyes, and prayed desperately that no one would notice.

"So," Roman said, trying to catch his breath, "what do you think?"

"It's..." Logan took a deep breath, and smiled. "It was beautiful."

Patton frowned. "Have you been crying?" he asked.

"No," Logan lied.

"Dude, don't lie," Virgil said, with a completely straight face.

Logan sighed. "Ok, fine. I was just... it was really beautiful. The song. You three are exceptionally good musicians."

"Thank you!" Roman exclaimed, placing a hand over his heart.

Logan nodded. "You are welcome."

Logan noticed Virgil glance out the window, and watched his face darken.

"Uh, guys? A car just pulled up," Virgil stated.

Roman looked over to Patton, and then to Logan. "Can we...?"

"Yes. Patton, go round to the back room, I'll come to get you once they've gone. Roman, Virgil, gather round the table over there-" Logan pointed to a table in the corner. "-and I'll join you in a moment. All our 'school' things are already there."

The other three nodded, and did as instructed. Logan went behind the counter, and waited for the door to open.

The bell rang, and an older lady walked in. Logan looked over - that must have been Roman's aunt.

"Roman has been studying hard, I presume?" she said immediately, looking around the room.

"Yes, he is in the corner over there, with Virgil," Logan replied, plastering a smile onto his face.

"And you are?"

"Logan," he introduced. "Logan Berry."

"I thought you would be studying with them?"

"I work here, ma'am," Logan replied, a hint of sarcasm to his voice. God, this woman was annoying. Did Roman really have to put up with her?

Roman and Virgil made their way up to the front of the café, standing by Logan.

"Good evening, Aunt," Roman greeted.

His aunt smiled, kind of. "We should be off. I have a separate car waiting for Virgil."

"Thanks," Virgil said, quietly. He still held a completely straight face.

Roman's aunt turned to Logan. "Do you also need a ride home?"

"Once again, I work here," Logan repeated. "I don't finish work until much later."

"Fair enough." His aunt turned back to Roman. "Are you two ready?"

They nodded, and the three left the café, leaving Logan alone.


	12. Patton

Patton looked around the small room he was sat in. It was dark, with the only light coming from a tiny window in the corner, but he figured that made sense. It was only a storage room, after all. He had found a stool to sit on, which he presumed was used to reach the higher shelves - and there was some _incredibly_ high shelves. Or maybe Patton was just short. Cardboard boxes were stacked up in the middle of the room, with shelves lining the walls reaching all the way up to the ceiling. Along the back wall, a few fridges and freezers were scattered about, for any food to be stored in.

Patton felt a shiver go through him. He didn't like this place, one bit. It was dark, and small, and he was all alone, and he didn't want to be there. He could hear the muffled voices of his friends through the walls, and prayed that they would be alright. He didn't want Roman to be hurt, or Virgil, or Logan, or himself. Perhaps that was a good enough reason for him to remain in the room. It was for the best. If anyone else saw him, somebody would be hurt. It was best for him to just remain there until it was safe. Logan would be there to collect him any minute, he was sure of it.

The door slowly opened, allowing more light to flood into the room. Patton let out a sigh of relief.

"Patton?" a voice called. "Are you okay?"

Patton nodded, and stood up. "Yup! Have they gone?"

Logan opened the door more, and stepped into the room. "Yes, they just drove down the street. It should be safe for you to come out now."

Patton smiled, and followed Logan back into the café. It felt weird with just the two of them there, but Patton was just glad that they were all safe. He could see Roman again, it would all be fine. His family had no idea that they had been together on that night. Everything would turn out just _fine_.

"Do you think you'll be back here to rehearse?" Logan inquired.

"I... I guess?" Patton replied, taking a seat down at a table as Logan went back behind the counter. "It kinda depends on the others, you know?"

"Well, it is worth mentioning that you three work incredibly well together as a band," Logan stated.

Patton blushed, a little. "We- We've only known each other for a few days."

Logan smirked. "That's what makes you guys so special. You hardly know each other, and yet you seem to fit perfectly. Aside from with you and Roman, of course, since you've been together for years."

Patton nodded. "Yeah. I... thanks, for this, and stuff."

"No problem." Logan tapped his finger against the counter. "Hey, do you think you guys would be interested in performing together at some point?"

"I- I don't know," Patton replied, with slight hesitation.

"We - as in, my family and I - have been planning on doing a live music night, to bring more business and the like," Logan explained. "It's happening in a few weeks. I'd be more than happy to request a slot for you."

Patton grinned. "That would be amazing! Thank you!"

"Of course, you'd have to run it by the others first, but assuming that you can have a few weeks to rehearse, I believe it would be a success. I have a couple more songs you can use, if you're interested."

"Aw, Logan, you're amazing!" Patton stood up, and made his way closer to Logan, beginning to lean over the counter.

Patton thought back to a few years ago, when he and Logan were still friends. It was weird to think that Logan had hardly changed. He was still the same Logan that Patton had grew to love, the same Logan that had been his first real friend. He looked and acted almost exactly the same. Patton couldn't help but smile at that.

Logan fixed a strand of blue hair that had fallen over his eye. "I'm happy to hear that you think that way, Patton."

Patton didn't know exactly how the next events happened, but he knew why. The song, the memories, just the very fact that Logan was _here_ , and they were together again... it all seemed to lead to that moment.

The moment when Patton's lips were against his.

It felt so right. Like he had been waiting for this his entire life. All other boys were out of his mind - Roman, Virgil, even _himself_. It was only Logan. In that moment, that was all that mattered.

However, that moment didn't last long.

Logan pulled away, a light blush across his cheeks. He looked... confused. Patton had never seen him with that expression, the expression of pure... fear, almost.

"What... What was that?" Logan shook his head. "That was highly inappropriate, Patton."

Suddenly, Patton was also blushing. "I- I thought-"

"Why would you do that?" Logan asked. "You and Roman-"

"But, the song," Patton said, "and, like, just... you. You're amazing."

"Patton, you can't just kiss every guy that you lay eyes on," Logan stated, sounding kind of... hurt.

Patton frowned. "I've only ever kissed Roman?" There was a silence between them. "Oh, and, uh, you, I guess."

Logan blinked. "You and Roman are in a relationship, though."

"Why would that change anything?" He had literally just had this exact conversation with Virgil a couple hours ago.

"Why would it _change_ anything?" Logan repeated. "That's literally cheating!"

Patton shook his head. "No. Roman and I have had this talk. He's okay with it, I'm okay with it. In fact, we would both be happy to-"

"I don't understand," Logan whispered, causing Patton to stop talking.

He leaned in closer, lowering his voice to an almost-whisper. "You're right, Logan. I should have asked first. But... that doesn't change the fact that Roman would be fine with it. We both believe that there shouldn't be a limit to the amount of people a person loves. But, if you're not comfortable with it, that's fine. I'll..." He took a deep breath. "I'll go home. I'm sorry. I, uh, I hope this doesn't make things awkward between us."

"It's... It's fine," Logan said, staring at the wall behind Patton. He cleared his throat. "We should probably just forget that this happened. I'll ask my parents about the performance, and get back to you tomorrow. So... Goodbye."

Patton gave Logan a small smile, before leaving the café.


	13. Virgil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little trigger warning before we begin, there is an description of a panic attack in this chapter.

"I'm sorry, what?"

Virgil couldn't believe what he was hearing. They were going to _perform_? In _front of people_?! They had literally known each other for three days. This wasn't going to work, this could never work, this was a terrible idea-

"Don't worry, kiddo!" Patton said, resting a kind of Virgil's shoulder and giving him a soft smile. "It's not for another few weeks."

"But..." Virgil took a deep breath. "Why?"

Patton laughed. "Why not? It'll be fun!"

"Multiple people watching us for the first time and _judging_ us does not sound fun."

"Hey, this'll help us! It'll get us noticed, and stuff. Roman and I have been waiting for this chance for years!" Patton grinned. "Also, it'll help Logan out a lot."

"How would us performing help out Logan?" Virgil questioned.

"Well, it's at his family's café. It'll help to bring more costumers, and stuff." Patton smiled.

"I..." Virgil sighed. "Ok, yeah, sure." He leant his head beak against the tree, staring up at the sky. Him and Patton were the only people who had arrived, with Roman not even at school and Logan doing God knows what. He figured that the four of them would be spending more time at the café after school, since he didn't think Roman would be coming to school all that much. "You want me to text Roman about it?"

Patton nodded.

Virgil took out his phone, and opened up Roman's contact. He had gotten his phone number the night before, so that he could 'inform him of future studying sessions'. His aunt had been pleased about that - she had said that Roman could go down to the café at any time.

 _hey_ , Virgil texted. _a_ _nother study session tonight? same time?_

Roman texted back almost immediately. _T_ _hat sounds super!_

_cool. i have some news._

_About what?_

_i'll tell you later._ Virgil locked his phone, and put it back in his pocket.

"Well?" Patton asked.

"I'm gonna tell him later," Virgil stated. "Probably shouldn't mention anything over text, y'know?"

Patton tilted his head. "Why not?"

He sighed. "We can't have his family finding out about all this," he explained, although it seemed pretty obvious to him.

"That... yeah, you're right."

Virgil tapped his hand against the grass. "I guess we're gonna have to practise, then. Like, a lot. So that we're ready."

Patton nodded. "Yeah..."

* * *

Virgil wasn't ready.

Not in the slightest.

They were supposed to be at the café by four ready for the show. Virgil wasn't sure if he'd be able to even get out of his bed, never mind attend the performance. His body would not physically allow him to move, and it sucked. The entire thing sucked. He wished that the voice in his head listing off all the bad stuff that could happen would just shut up.

However, he couldn't help but listen to it. He couldn't help but _believe_ it. Because it was right. There was no way this would go well. They had only had three weeks of practise. _Three weeks_. That was not nearly long enough. And, yeah, they sounded kind of good, to Virgil at least, but would other people think that way? Who would even be attending? _What if someone he knew was there?_

He brought his knees up to his face, and closed eyes. What time was it? How long did he have? How long had he  _been_ there? How long had he sat there, waiting for everything to just fade, waiting for all of his thoughts to just go away? The only thing he could hear was his own heartbeat. But even that couldn't seem to drown out his thoughts, a million voices screaming at him, taunting him, telling him that nothing would be okay. And he hated it. He hated it all.

He heard his phone buzz on the table besides him. He ignored it. He... He couldn't do this. He couldn't go to the café, couldn't face the crowd, couldn't let people see the  _tears falling down his face_. He tried to lift his hand to wipe them away, to making him feel better, but his arm couldn't move. He couldn't move. He was trapped, in his own room, the walls closing in, his thoughts, his  _tears_ suffocating him. 

He heard banging on his door. It was loud. Too loud. Way louder than it should be. Then, a muffled voice behind it. Virgil didn't listen, he couldn't listen, he couldn't hear. He couldn't face whoever was out there, couldn't let them see him this vulnerable. But the banging seemed to fade. Or maybe just sync up with the pounding in his chest. 

All he could _hear_ was the pounding in his chest. He should tell the others that he couldn't - no. He couldn't disappoint them. He couldn't tell them. He had to go. He had to stand. He couldn't let his body hold him down, his thoughts keep in him chains. He  _had to go._ He had to escape this place. He had to run from the monsters within him, from the monsters, the shadows in his room, crawling closer, walking closer, stomping on the floor-

"Virgil?"

His head shot up.


	14. Roman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little trigger warning before we begin, there is a brief description of the ending of a panic attack from an outsiders perspective, although the actual attack from the victim's point-of-view is not described in this chapter. 
> 
> The song used in this chapter is 'You Will Be Found' from the musical Dear Evan Hansen.

"Ugh, where _is_ he?!"

Roman paced back and forth down the length of the café. Virgil should have arrived half an hour ago. The show was starting in fifteen minutes. Sure, they weren't going to be on for another two hours, but they _needed Virgil there_.

"M-Maybe he just got a little lost," Patton said, which just annoyed Roman even more.

"He comes here, like, every day! He can't be _lost_!" Roman groaned.

He stopped walking, and leant with his back against the counter, staring up at the ceiling. He was honestly beginning to worry. Virgil hadn't been reading his texts, or answering his calls, or _anything_! He had _promised_ to come, he wouldn't just... abandon them, would he?

"Screw it," Roman said. "I'm going to get him."

He began to make his way towards the door, but stopped as Patton placed his hand on his shoulder. "Roman-"

Roman spun around to face Patton. "I have to make sure that he's okay. I know his address."

Patton sighed. "Okay, but don't be too long. Text me if you need anything."

"You got it." Roman smiled, and left the café.

* * *

Roman knocked on Virgil's door, and tapped his foot on the ground impatiently. There was no answer. He knocked again, louder.

The door swung open, revealing a woman.

"Where the hell is Virgil?"

She frowned. "Who are you-"

"Where. The hell. Is Virgil?" Roman repeated.

"He's, uh, he's upstairs, but-"

Roman pushed past her, and immediately ran up the stairs, ignoring her shouts of protest. Virgil must have been in his room. But why? Why hadn't he come to the café? Was he okay?

He knocked on the first door he came across, the only one that was closed. He assumed that that was a sign that Virgil was inside. At first, there was no reply. He could swear that he heard muffled crying through the door. That... didn't sound good. At all.

"Virgil?" Roman said, leaning his forehead against the door. There was still no reply.

He slowly opened the door, and made his way in. Virgil was sat on his bed, his arms wrapped around his knees. The curtains were closed, and Virgil seemed... completely out of it. More so than usual. 

"Virgil," Roman repeated, almost at a whisper. He didn't want to overwhelm Virgil - he _already_ looked overwhelmed without anyone else there.

Virgil immediately looked up, staring at Roman with fear in his eyes. His eyeshadow was running down his face. That... probably wasn't good. Roman made his way towards him, but Virgil just shuffled away, moving closer to the wall. Roman stopped in his tracks. He figured he probably shouldn't get too close to Virgil. He had to calm him down first, so he knew it would be safe for both of them for him to approach. 

"Virgil, are you-"

He shook his head.

"Ok, that's what I thought." Roman looked around. He didn't know how to react in this type of situation. This was really more of Patton's expertise. Maybe he should have come instead.

No. It didn't matter. Roman was there now, and he had to help his friend.

Roman took a deep breath. "Do you think-"

Virgil shook his head again, and opened his mouth to reply, but didn't seem to be able to speak. He looked back down, putting his head back on his knees and closing his eyes. Roman continued to look around the room, spotting something out the corner of his eyes. A Dear Evan Hansen playbill, pinned up on side of his closet. Roman hummed in thought.

" _Have you ever felt like,_  
_Nobody was there?_ " Roman sang.

Virgil looked back up, as Roman took a step closer.

" _Have you ever felt forgotten,_  
_In the middle of nowhere?_ "

Roman was now at the side of Virgil's bed. He didn't seem to be protesting, thankfully.

" _Have you ever felt like,_  
_You could disappear?_  
_Like you could fall,_  
_And no one would hear?_ "

Roman sat down on the side of Virgil's bed. Virgil looked over at him, a look of slight confusion of his face, but he didn't seem... upset, by Roman being there. His breathing seemed to have steadied, at least. The look of intense fear was no longer in his eyes. But he still appeared to be shaking. He looked on edge. Roman had to be careful to not making any sudden movements, so that he wouldn't scare him. 

" _Well,_ " Roman continued, " _let that lonely feeling was away,_  
_Maybe there's a reason to,_  
_Believe you'll be ok._  
_'Cause when you don't feel,_  
_Strong enough to stand-_ "

Roman carefully placed a hand on top of Virgil's, just touching him lightly, and began to lace their fingers together. His hand was trembling, slightly. However, the contact with Roman seemed to be helping. 

" _You can reach,_  
_Reach out your hand._ "

Roman could swear he saw a tiny smile appear on Virgil's face.

" _And oh, oh,_  
_Someone will come running,_  
_And I know, oh,_  
_They'll take you home._ "

Virgil took several deep breaths, clearly trying to calm himself down. Roman didn't attempt to interrupt - he just continued singing, hoping that maybe that would help him get in the right mindset. He had stopped shaking. That was good, right?

" _Even when the dark comes crashing through,_  
_And you need a friend to carry you,_  
_When you're broken on the ground,_  
_You will be found._ "

Roman moved closer to the window, his hand still clutching onto Virgil's. Not that Virgil would _let_ him let go. His grip of Roman's hand was tight. Roman slowly opened the curtains, letting a tiny bit of sunlight into the room. He didn't open it the whole way, though. Just a small bit. He didn't want Virgil to feel overwhelmed by it all.

" _So let the sun come streaming in,_  
_'Cause you'll reach up and you'll rise again._ "

Roman began to stand up, dragging Virgil up to his feet with him. He gently placed a hand in his shoulder, and looked into Virgil's eyes, sending a silent signal to him, telling him that he could  _trust_ him. 

" _If you only look around..._ "

Virgil smiled, and joined Roman for the final line, singing at a lower pitch to harmonise almost perfectly.

" _You will be found._ "

Virgil wrapped his arms around Roman, burying his face on his shoulder. Roman let him do so, and gently patted the back of his head.

"Are you okay?" Roman whispered.

He took a deep breath. "Yeah. I... thanks."

Roman pulled away, taking both of Virgil's hands and holding them tight. The two stood in the middle of the room, in the only section of sunlight.

"I'm sorry," Virgil said, looking down.

Roman let go of Virgil's left hand, and brought his right hand up to his chin, gently lifting it so they were looking in each other's eyes once again.

"Don't be sorry, Virgil," he said, softly. "You're okay, and that's all that matters."

"But... the thing..."

"It doesn't start for over an hour. We have plenty of time."

"I..." He sighed. "I can't, Roman. I can't do it."

"If it's any consolation," Roman began, "there's nobody there that you'll know. It's mostly just a bunch of older university students. They all look extremely nice. Plus, there are plenty of acts before our own."

Virgil bit his lip, before saying, "Ok. I'll... I'll do it, for you two."

Roman smiled.

"But," he continued, "I'm nowhere near ready. I can't go out like this."

"I can help you with your makeup," Roman offered.

"Thanks," Virgil replied, with a small smile. "It's, uh, my bags over on the desk."

Roman nodded, and went to retrieve it. He instructed Virgil to sit back down on his bed, before pulling a chair out from the desk closer to the bed. He opened up the bag, firstly taking out some wipes to get rid of the ruined layer of makeup Virgil already had on. Once it had all been wiped away, Roman stared at Virgil's face, almost in shock.

Virgil frowned. "What?" His voice was kind of shaky.

"I-It's just..." Roman smirked. "You have freckles," he observed.

Virgil turned a deep shade of red. "That's why I wear foundation."

"Why?" Roman asked. "There's no need to. They look beautiful."

If possible, Virgil turned an even darker red.

Roman just laughed. "Come on, Verge. You honestly do look amazing. We... You should keep the freckles for today."

He shook his head. "No. Nope. No way. Not happening."

"Please?"

"No."

He sighed. "Okay. Fine. We'll cover them up. But I'm gonna made you show them one day!"

"Sure you will, Princey," Virgil replied, rolling his eyes.

Roman raised an eyebrow. "'Princey'?"

"Don't ask."

Roman shrugged. "Fair enough. Now, makeup." He took some white foundation out of the bag, and began to apply it on Virgil. 

"I've never had someone else do my makeup," Virgil whispered, as Roman moved his fingers across his face.

"Really?" Roman replied, kind of shocked. "How did you learn it all?"

"YouTube tutorials." He hummed. "And just kinda, experimenting, honestly. I used to steal Mum's makeup when I was younger."

"That makes so much sense," Roman said, smiling. He put the foundation back into the bag. "What else do you usually put on?"

"Eyeshadow? Sometimes eyeliner, as well," Virgil informed him.

Roman nodded, and looked into the bag, taking out several eyeshadows and a black eyeliner pencil. "You have so many different colours!" he noted. "How come you only ever use black?"

"I always thought that reflected me most as a person."

Roman laughed. "Okay, you emo nightmare."

"That's all I try to be."

Roman shook his head, fondly. "Of course you do. Now... I'd use purple to match your hair, but that would probably just made it look like there are bruises around your eyes. How about red?"

"Ew. Red."

"Hey, red is my signature colour!" Roman protested.

"I was under the impression that your 'signature colour' was the full rainbow," Virgil said, smirking slightly.

"You're... not wrong there." He smiled. "Even so, red is still a perfectly nice and valid colour. Also it will go great with the black."

Virgil sighed. "Okay, fine, go ahead."

Roman grinned. "Perfect!" Virgil closed his eyes as Roman got to work, starting with the black eyeliner around his eyes and moving to the eyeshadow, highlighting underneath the eyes with black moving into the red, and using a mixture of orange and red on his eyelids. By the end, it looked pretty... cool. Like fire flickering off a piece of coal. Roman liked the effect. Hopefully Virgil would feel the same.

Roman clapped his eyes. "And we're done here!"

Virgil smiled, and stood up, making his way to his dresser. Roman watched him look in the mirror, and smiled as Virgil's grin grew.

"You like it?" Roman asked.

"Like it?" Virgil let out a loud, sharp laugh. "I love it!" He turned around to face Roman. "Since when could you do makeup?"

He shrugged. "I'm a theatre kid, we gotta know this stuff." He stood up, and made his way towards the door. "And I'm gay," he quickly added.

Virgil nodded in agreement. "You make a good point."

"Well, _¿está listo para salir, mi bien Señor?_ " He bowed slightly, holding out his hand.

Virgil frowned. "I don't- Since when do you speak Spanish?" 

" _Nacido y criado en España_ ," Roman replied. 

Virgil just looked even more confused. 

"Oh, right, I guess you don't speak Spanish," he said. "I was born in Spain," he quickly translated. "Lived there for quite a few years before I moved here."

"Okay, good to know, but what did you say before?" Virgil asked. 

Roman smiled. "Are you ready to go, my good sir."

Virgil sighed, but nodded, smiling fondly. "Of course, Princey."

He took Roman's hand, and the two walked out of Virgil's house, and down to the café, without another word. Neither one of them let go.


	15. Logan

Logan looked around the café frantically. Roman and Virgil was nowhere to be found. They were supposed to be on in fifteen minutes.

He turned around, and went to join Patton sitting next to the window. "Hey, Pat," Logan said, sitting down on the seat opposite to him.

Patton grinned. "Hello... gan."

Logan sighed. "That were terrible, Patton."

"I know."

"Anyway," Logan said, trying to get straight to the point, "where are the other two?"

"Roman went to get Virgil," Patton explained. "They're not back yet."

At that exact moment, the door burst upon, Roman walking straight in, followed by a slightly embarrassed looking Virgil.

"Oh, apparently they _are_ back," Patton corrected himself.

The two made their way over to Logan and Patton, and took a seat at the table with them.

"Where have you two been?" Logan asked. "You should have been here hours ago."

"In my defence," Roman began, "it wasn't my fault that Virgil didn't show up."

"You guys could have done it without me, y'know," Virgil said, quietly.

Patton shook his head. "No! You are an important member of our team, kiddo, we can't do this all without you!"

Virgil sank into his seat. "Sure. Whatever. Well, I'm here now, so."

"What took you two so long?" Logan questioned, trying to get the conversation back on track.

Virgil gestured to his face. Logan looked over, frowning a little. It did look... different, kind of. His eyes seemed brighter. Logan knew that would be ridiculous, a persons eye colour doesn't just 'get brighter', so that had to be some sort of logical explanation...

His makeup. Logan couldn't believe he hadn't noticed before. Now that he saw, it seemed so obvious. His usual black eyeshadow had changed so that it included sparks of red and orange. Logan did admit that it looked good, as well. However, he couldn't help but feel as if it was a waste of time.

"What, so you spent extra time doing _whatever_ that is, making both yourself and Roman late-"

"Actually, Roman did the makeup stuff," Virgil interrupted.

Logan shot a glare at Roman. "You were supposed to just go and get him, not sit down and do his makeup for him."

"That was the only way to get him to come out!" Roman defended, holding up his hands. "Look, it's harder than you think."

"Hard to retrieve a person from their house and walk fifteen minutes down the street?"

"I had to deal with Virgil, there were many things that had to be sorted out before we could come!"

"Virgil is perfectly capable of doing his own makeup and walking down here."

"Logan, you don't know what was going on with him, you can't just-"

"I'm right here, you know," Virgil spoke up. "Don't talk about me like I'm not sitting right next to you. And, uh, Logan? Roman is right." He took a deep breath. "It's my fault, really-"

"No, it's not!" Roman exclaimed, placing a hand on Virgil's arm.

Virgil pulled his arm away, rolling his eyes a little. "Fine. But, yeah, it was me who insisted on doing the makeup before we left. I'm sor-"

"Don't you dare apologize!"

"Don't tell me what to do!"

"Guys!" A silence fell between the them, as the three looked over to the source of the voice. Patton. Of course. Logan had almost forgotten that he was still there. "Stop fighting, please." He looked almost... no. Logan couldn't be seeing that right. "We're on after this song."

Logan's eyes widened. He looked over at the stage, then down at his clipboard. "Patton is correct," he muttered. He then added, louder, "You guys need to get to the back of the stage. I wish you luck."

The three nodded, and Logan was left alone. He had yet to decide whether putting their act last had been a good idea. On the one hand, it was pretty lucky, as if they weren't in that position on the timetable they probably wouldn't have made it, since Roman and Virgil had been late. Although, it did mean they would _have_ to be good. In order to keep the audience engaged, they would have to be amazing right off the bat. Everyone would be tired at this point. They would have stopped paying attention. The boys had to do something to gain that attention back.

The other act came to a close, and a small round of applause rung through the room. The next thing Logan knew, Roman was standing by the microphone, and Virgil and Patton were taking their seats on the stage. A count to four, and they started playing.

Logan immediately became entranced in the music. Roman had a way with his voice. He could somehow just pull a person in, make them forget about everything else, like it was some sort of magic. At this point, Logan wouldn't be surprised if it was. If not for the fact that magic wasn't real, of course. Logan didn't believe in that stuff... did he? Even so, if magic _was_ real, then this would be it. Roman, standing on stage, lost in the lyrics, the lyrics that _Logan_ had written, and just... looking like he felt completely free. Like he could fly. Like he was powerful, like he was in control. It was mesmerising.

The blue-haired boy tried his best to tear his eyes of Roman, instead looking over to Virgil. And, just like that, Logan was lost again. He hadn't noticed it before, but Virgil looked completely different when performing. It was as if he was in his own world, unaware of everything - which, Logan thought, drastically contrasted his usual manner, as Virgil usually seemed to be _over-aware_ , with his eyes darting around everywhere, taking in every detail and watching every tiny action around him. It was almost comforting to see that a person who seemed so on-edge all the time find a place where he could lose himself in what he loved. Where he could relax, with nothing in the back of his mind to worry about. It made Logan think that, maybe, the same could happen for him.

No, that was stupid. Logan shouldn't have been thinking like that. He was perfectly fine with how things were going for him.

Sighing, Logan looked over to Patton. They must have just finished their first song, because Patton was grinning and looking around the room, without strumming on his ukulele. His cheeks had a slightly red hue, and his glasses had fallen down his nose. Logan smiled as he watched Patton push them back up. The next song started, and Logan's smile grew even more as Patton began to strum happily. He looked so carefree, so content with where he was. The stares from the audience didn't throw him off in the slightest - in fact, every tiny moment of eye contact just seemed to draw him further into the music. Logan admired that.

For the next twenty minutes or so, Logan didn't take his eyes off the boys. He didn't even listen to the music that much - just watching them perform, watching them exist in perfect harmony, was enough.

A round of applause echoed through the room. A few people stood. It had... it had gone well? People liked it? That was good. Logan was counting on that.

Although, it seemed as if Logan was the one clapping the loudest.

* * *

"Well, I should probably head home," Roman announced. It had been just over an hour since their performance, and most of the audience and the other acts had left. Only a few students from the local university, a few older couples, and the four boys remained.

Patton wrapped his arms around Roman, enclosing him in a hug. "Have a safe journey home," he said.

Logan nodded. "Yes, Roman, do have a safe journey. Do you require anyone to see you home?"

"No," Roman replied, shaking his head. "It's best if I go alone. You have to stay here, Logan, and Pat and I can't be seen in public together. Virgil..."

"I'm gonna hang here for a bit," Virgil said. "Like, a few hours, at least. I... I don't really want to go home just yet."

Roman nodded. "Ok." He smiled. "Well, I'll see you three around." He began to leave.

"Wait, Ro!" Patton shouted. "At least let me walk you to the end of the street. I'm gonna go home now, anyway."

Roman hesitated, but soon shrugged. "I don't see what could go wrong with that," Roman said, smiling. He took Patton's hand, and the two left the café.

That left Virgil sitting on the counter, with Logan standing just behind him. Logan looked up at Virgil, smirking a little.

"Do you really have to sit on the counter?" he inquired.

Virgil's head shot around to face Logan, his body turning a little with him. "The counters far more comfortable than the floor."

"There are chairs, you know," Logan pointed out.

"Yeah, but that just doesn't _feel_ the same."

"Well, yes, I imagine they would be far more comfortable-"

"Nah, counters cool."

Logan sighed. "If I cannot get you to change your mind, then fair enough."

Virgil smiled. "Thank you. I'm gonna stay on the counter."

"Of course you are." Logan looked around the café. "You did well today, by the way."

Virgil immediately blushed. Was it really _that_ easy to make him blush? "Th-thanks."

There was silence between them for a moment. Had it always been this awkward? No. Usually they could talk. Or, well... usually they would be completely alone, or with the other two. Now though, in the café in broad daylight, with actual costumers sitting around... maybe it wasn't so easy for Virgil to speak. Logan could understand that.

That didn't mean he could stand the silence, though. He also couldn't deny that watching them perform had made him... think. Think about things that he usually wouldn't.

He had to tell someone about what had happened with Patton. He needed advice on the situation. Maybe Virgil could help.

"Hey, can I talk to you about something?" Logan asked.

Fear flashed through Virgil's eyes.

Placing a hand on top of Virgil's, Logan gave him a soft smile. "Don't worry, nothing bad. Just... something I need to get off my chest."

Virgil hesitated, but nodded. "Yeah, sure, go ahead dude."

"Patton kissed me," Logan blurted out, without a second thought.

There was another silence. Logan worried that he had maybe gone to far - he shouldn't have said that to Virgil, should he? This wasn't going to go well.

"Okay," Virgil finally said, letting out a breath of air. Logan came to the realisation that Virgil had been holding his breath. God, he was such an idiot. He should have seen that coming. "Does Roman know?"

Logan frowned. "You're taking this extremely well."

"Does. Roman. Know?" Virgil repeated.

"I... don't know."

Virgil hummed in thought. "If it's any consolation, I'm fairly sure that Roman would be fine with it. Or, well, they told me that they both were... willing to let you into their relationship, or something like that. I don't know. Just..." He tapped his hand on his knee. "Did you kiss back?"

Logan shook his head. "No. I didn't think it would be right for me to do so."

"Well, that's... good." He took a deep breath. "You like Patton, though, don't you?"

"No," Logan lied. He cringed at how easily that had come out. He was supposed to be _opening up_ to Virgil at that moment. He had to tell him the truth. "Well, I mean, I certainly used to. When we were younger. Whether I still feel the same now, that's..."

"You do, Logan, you aren't fooling anyone."

Logan sighed. "Yes, you are right. I do like him."

"He likes you, too," Virgil mentioned, sounding almost too casual.

Logan shook his head in disbelief. "No. He's... he's happy with Roman."

Virgil smiled sadly. "You need to talk to him. And Roman. I have a feeling they _both_ have something to say to you."

"No, I _can't_ , Virgil!" Logan exclaimed, causing a few people to look over. He muttered an apology, and lowered his voice for his next words. "I can't risk doing that. It could wreck their relationship. I don't want to be responsible for that."

"Isn't it worse to keep it a secret?" Virgil wondered.

Logan shrugged. "I suppose so. But it's really up to Patton to decide whether or not Roman should know. And it's Patton job to tell him. It was _Patton_ who kissed _me_."

Virgil sighed. "Ok then."

They didn't speak again until it was time for Virgil to go home. By that point, everyone else had left. Logan sat in the café, completely alone with his thoughts. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing.


	16. Patton

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little trigger warning before we begin, this chapter does contain implied/referenced homophobia.

Patton laced his fingers around Roman's, pressing their palms together. Roman's hands were warm - Patton appreciated that in the light wind. The two walked down the street, not caring what people thought. It had been ages since they had been able to do this. Patton couldn’t have been happier.

"What happened with Virgil?" Patton asked, looking up at Roman.

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you two took a while. I didn't know if something happened?"

There was silence for a moment, the only sound being the cars zooming past. Roman sighed. "I... He... He had something along the lines of a panic attack, I think. It took me a while to calm him down."

"He had a panic attack?!" Patton gasped, concerned. "Was he okay? Why did he come? He could have stayed at home, that would have been-"

"No, it was good that he came," Roman interrupted. "It was a good distraction, I think. Besides, at that point I had managed to calm him down, everything was fine."

Patton took a deep breath. "Ok. That's... fine." He smiled. "But, did anything else happen?" he added, beginning to smirk a little.

"What else would happen?"

"Well, I mean, it's pretty obvious that you have a huge crush on him-"

Roman blushed. "Dude!"

Patton laughed. "I'm cool with it, by the way. Why don't you ask him on a date? We could totally invite him into our relationship. It's getting lonely with just us two."

"Hey!" Roman leant down, placing a kiss on the top of Patton's head. "I would never let you be lonely."

Smiling, Patton turned to face Roman, and stood on his tiptoes to peck him on the lips, with Roman bending down slightly to help him reach. That peck turned into a long kiss, as the two stopped on the corner of the street.

"Still," Patton said, as he pulled away, "you should ask Virgil about it."

Roman hummed in thought. "Ok. _But_ , you’ve gotta ask Logan too."

Patton's smile faded. "Oh, yeah, that... that's not gonna work."

Roman frowned. "How come? How would you even know? You do have a crush on him, right?"

Patton nodded. "Y-yeah, I really do love him, and I know he loves me back, but..." He took a deep breath. "I kissed him. And he... I tried to talk to him about my relationship with you, and how we are open to him joining, but I don't think he understood."

"Try talking to him again," Roman advised. "And if he still doesn’t get it, I’ll try talking to him as well. If we've both said it, then maybe he'll believe it. Although, if he truly isn't open to the idea of polyamory-"

"-then we don't have to force him," Patton finished, regaining his smile. "You're smart, Roman."

"I do try my best."

Grinning, Patton pulled Roman down slightly, pulling him into another kiss. For a moment, everything was perfect, exactly like it should be. Patton was content. Happy to have Roman in his life.

"Roman Prince!"

Roman pulled away, and looked for the source of the voice. Patton watched him with worry, as his face darkened. Frowning, he followed his boyfriends gaze, to a woman he vaguely recognised. That women that...

"Oh no," he mumbled.

Roman grabbed Patton's arms, and pulled him closer, with Roman going to stand in front protectively. His aunt made her way closer.

"I told you to stay _away_ from that boy!"

Patton was tempted to step out from behind Roman, and defend him. But, the woman did look incredibly angry. Angry at Patton. That wouldn't be the best idea. Besides, Roman was holding him still, holding him safe.

"Look, Aunt-"

"No, whatever you have to say _don't say it_ ," she interrupted. "You'll only make the situation worse for yourself."

"But I-"

"You are coming home with me _right_ now, young man!" She grabbed his wrist.

Roman, unfazed, pulled away. "No."

Fury glistened in her eyes. Patton stepped further behind Roman, his heart racing.

" _What_ did you just say to me?!"

"I said _no_ ," Roman repeated. "I'm not coming back with you."

His aunt seemed lost for words. Patton smirked. His heart had seemed to calm down, thanks to Roman taking the lead and standing up for himself.

"Come on, sweetheart, she isn't worth our time," Roman said, beginning to turn around to walk away. As he turned, he wrapped his arm around Patton's waist, pulling him closer so that their bodies were connected as they walked. Patton was fairly sure that the only reason he was doing that was to rub it in his aunt’s face.

"Well, then you are no longer welcome at home!" his aunt shouted out, causing a few people walking by to turn around and stare. "Don't come running back to us crying."

"I wasn't planning to," Roman replied, casually.

"I- You-" She groaned. "Why are you so calm about the fact that you've just been kicked out of your house? Shouldn't you be _begging_ me to allow you to stay?"

Roman let out a cold, hard laugh. Patton looked up as Roman turned his head around, and caught the brave glint in his eye. Roman was ready for this, Patton could tell. He was ready to rip his aunt to pieces.

"You can't _kick me out_ ," he said, "when I've _already quit_!"

"This... this isn't a job, Roman," his aunt said.

"It sure felt like one, living with you."

"You can't just quit family."

"And you can't fire family, yet here we are." Roman chuckled. "Do you have any idea how long I've wanted to _leave_ that _hell_? Sure, it's a nice house and all, it's alright living there, but having to deal with you and him every single day, as you both bash and insult my lifestyle in every other sentence... I don't want that."

Patton could swear that Roman had a tear in the corner of his eye. He wouldn't be surprised if _he_ did, too.

"So, I'm finally leaving. Thank you for your permission. I greatly appreciate it."

And, with that, Roman and Patton left, still connected as one. Neither of them would ever have to see her again.

* * *

Patton sat down on his bed, and looked up at Roman. "So, what's gonna happen now?"

Sighing, Roman rubbed the back of his neck. "I... I don't know, Pat. In hindsight, this was a bad idea."

"Hey, don't say that!" Patton grabbed Roman's arm, and pulled him over to the bed. Smiling slightly, Roman sat down next to him, allowing Patton to wrap his arm around his shoulder. "It was for the best. Besides, you know you can stay here as long as you need to."

Roman leant his head on Patton's shoulder. "You are too good for me." He sighed, and sat back up, shuffling away from Patton a bit. He looked over to him, staring at his love straight in the eye. "Will your mum be ok with this?"

"My mum loves you," Patton pointed out.

"That's a good point."

Patton took hold of Roman's hand, squeezing it tight. "Everything will be fine, okay? You're fine. We're fine."


	17. Virgil

It was the day after the performance, a Sunday, and the four had decided to meet up at the café again. In attempts to make up for what had happened the day before, Virgil had showed up early. Too early, he soon found out. The door was locked. Even Logan hadn't arrived yet. Great.

Virgil leant with his back against the door, and folded his arms over his chest. It was cold, sort of. Not freezing, but the sun wasn't out. To Virgil, that meant it was cold.

The streets were almost empty. In the time waiting for Logan to arrive, he counted exactly three people. All of which stared at him as they walked past. God, this was a terrible idea.

When Logan finally arrived, Virgil let out a sigh of relief. "Hey, Logan."

Logan blinked in surprise. "You're early," he stated, taking out his keys.

Virgil rolled his eyes. "Wow, no way, well done for noticing," he muttered, as he stepped out of the doorway to allow Logan to get past.

After the two had safely made their way inside the café, Virgil went over to sit on the counter. Just like the day before. What could he say, it was pretty comfy!

Logan just looked up at him, and sighed. "Really, Virgil? This again?"

Virgil nodded. "There's nothing you can do to stop me."

"I can kick you out the café," he threatened.

"You wouldn't do that."

"Oh, I would."

Virgil was silent for a moment, before quietly saying, "I was here first."

Logan opened his mouth to reply, but stopped as the bell rang, signalling that a person had entered the building. A drift of cold air flooded into the room, as two people stepped in and walked towards the counter. Roman and Patton. Thank God.

"Hey, guys," Virgil greeted.

Logan nodded in greeting. "Yes, welcome."

Patton grinned. "Yesterday went _great_ , didn't it?" he said, as he took a seat at one of the nearby tables. Roman went to join him.

"It really did," Logan replied, before frowning slightly. "How come you two came in together? I thought Roman would have had to walk alone, or with his aunt?"

"Oh, yeah." Patton laughed, quietly. "His aunt saw us yesterday after we had left, and she wasn't particularly pleased. And, uh, some stuff... some stuff happened, and, well..." He drifted off, looking over to Roman.

Roman quickly picked it up. "Basically, I no longer want to associate with her or my uncle, so l have now decided to live with Patton."

Virgil's eyes widened. "Dude, what?!" he exclaimed. "You- She... They kicked you out?"

Roman shook his head. "Nope. I quit."

"You _quit_?" Virgil repeated.

"I _left willingly_ ," Roman clarified. "It's for the better, anyway. Staying with Patton is fine for the time being. Actually, it's perfect."

There was silence for a moment. Virgil took a deep breath to compose himself. Roman was fine. He was safe. He would be safe as long as Patton was there. Besides, even if Patton _wasn't_ there, Virgil knew Roman would be safe. He would have made sure of it. He would have taken him in _himself_ , if he had too.

God, why did he care so much about this guy?

"Anyway, I was thinking about the future of the band last night," Logan began, thankfully changing the subject, "and I believe that you three should sign up for the school talent show."

Virgil blinked. They should... what? No, that... why would Logan suggest that? Sure, the day before went pretty good, but... No. They couldn't do that. Not in front of the school. Virgil was already enough of a weirdo without all this music stuff. The quiet kid sitting at the back of the classroom, wearing all black _and_ makeup, never speaking a word. He couldn't be seen on stage. People couldn't know about his passion for music.

"Now, I know you guys might be a little nervous to perform in front of such a large crowd," Logan continued, "but I really think that you're ready. That you have a _chance_."

What if they messed up, though? What if they did terribly? What if the whole school made fun of them? What if they heckled them when they were on stage? What if, what if, _what if..._

 _Shut up,_ Virgil told himself. _Stop worrying. It will be fine._

It would not be fine. Virgil couldn't do that.

"That's a _great_ idea, Logan!" Roman praised.

 _No, Roman, don't encourage him._ Virgil jumped down from the counter. His heart was racing. He could hear the fast-paced pumping, drowning out any positive thoughts but for some reason letting the negative ones through. He needed to calm down. Muttering a brief apology, he left the café, and leant against the wall. He took in a short breath of fresh air, and slowly let it go. He then again. And again. And again. He kept repeating that breathing pattern, until he could no longer hear his heartbeat. Until he could listen to his _positive_ thoughts.

He turned to go back into the café, but jumped when he saw Patton standing besides him, moving a couple inches away from the wall in a state of shock.

Patton gasped. "Oh my God, Verge, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"D-don't worry, Pat," Virgil interrupted, his voice hoarse. "I'm fine. Just... I wasn't expecting..."

Patton have him a sympathetic smile. "Of course. Again, I'm sorry. But, are you okay?"

Virgil nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine, now," he said, his voice returning to its usual state.

"Did the thought of performing scare you?" Patton asked.

Virgil let out a sigh of relief. Patton knew. Of course Patton knew. That made the entire situation way easier, honestly. "Yeah, that's it."

Patton giggled. "Don't worry about it, Virgil. We don't have to do it if you don't want to."

"But..." He closed his eyes. "Roman seemed so excited by it."

"That doesn't matter, Virgil. He wouldn't want to do it if it made you feel anxious. We don't have to do it," Patton reassure him.

Virgil shook his head. "No. No, we- we should. I'll do it."

Patton's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yup."

Suddenly, Virgil froze. Something that wrapped itself around his shoulders. Arms. It was Patton's arms. Patton was hugging him. That... That was nice, actually. It was warm. But, he didn't know how to react. He closed his eyes, again, melting into the hug, leaning his head on Patton's shoulder. He kind of wanted that moment to last forever.

But, of course, eventually Patton pulled away. Still smiling, Patton planted a soft kiss on Virgil's cheek, before stepping back, and moving towards the door.

"We should go back in, I think we're going to do a rehearsal," he said, opening the door and stepping inside.

Virgil followed. He let out a breath that he didn't know he had been holding.


	18. Roman

"I should probably head home," Virgil announced, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. The four of them had closed up rehearsal around an hour ago, and had just been sitting around in the café. People had come and gone, with a few still hanging around.

Roman glanced over at Patton, making eye contact for a brief second. They made some sort of silent communication, with Patton nodding once to let Roman know that he was okay with the plan.

"You want me to walk you home?" Roman offered, stepping closer to Virgil.

He shook his head. "N-no, it's fine, you stay here with Patton-"

"Please, Virgil," Roman interrupted, now standing right in front of him, "I insist."

Virgil stared for a couple minutes before he eventually gave in. "Okay, fine, you can come along."

Roman grinned. "Awesome!"

Roman followed Virgil out the café, and walked besides him as they made their way down the street. Virgil had folded his arms across his chest - whether that was just to indicate that he was cold, or something more, Roman didn't know. He didn't think too much into it. He _couldn't_ let himself think too much into it. This was his _chance_ , and nothing could bring him down. Virgil was right there, they were alone together, it would be so easy to just ask him there and then.

Although, he figured he'd have to explain first. Considering the situation with Patton... and Logan.

"Hey, Virgil, can I ask you something?" he requested.

Virgil froze. "You do realise that that is the worst possible thing you can say to a person with anxiety," he said, quietly.

"I'm sorry," Roman quickly apologised. "I just really need to get something off my chest."

"You mean that sash? Yes, please, take it off. It looks ridiculous."

Roman made an offended gasp. "Excuse me?"

"I said your sash looks ridiculous," Virgil clarified.

"Who do you think you are? Coming into _my_ house-"

"We're not in a house."

"-insulting _my_ fashion choices?" Roman shook his head. "I cannot believe you." He tried his best to sound angry. He wasn't angry in the slightest, though. He couldn't be angry at Virgil.

Virgil shrugged. "I'm just telling the truth." He laughed. Roman joined in. At least that way they both knew that neither one of them was being serious. "But, really, what did you want to ask?"

"Oh, yeah, that." Roman took a deep breath. "Virgil, I was wondering if you would like to, maybe, go on a date with me sometime?"

Virgil seemed taken aback by that comment, with a light red colour rushing to his cheeks. "I- what?"

"With Patton as well, of course." Roman let out a nervous laugh. "Or even just us three hanging out. It, uh, doesn't need to be a date-thing if you don't want to. I already have a place in mind..."

"Roman." Virgil stopped walked, and turned to look at him. "This is pretty... sudden, don't you think? And, like, with your relationship with Patton, I don't-"

"Patton and I have discussed it," Roman stated, desperate to calm Virgil down over the situation. "We would both love it if you would... join our relationship. You do know about our situation, right?"

Virgil nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I get it. But, like, I've never really done this before-"

"Well, yes, I assumed you weren't familiar with this type of relationship-"

"I mean, I've never really done the whole _boyfriend_ thing," Virgil said, looking. "Like, I love you both, and Logan, seriously, you guys have been so kind to me, but... I don't know. It's all just... too quick. And starting off there, I just..."

Roman took Virgil's hand, gripping them tight. "We can go as slowly you want. We don't have to rush into anything."

Virgil's eyes stayed fixed on the ground. Roman stared at him, longingly. He wanted more than anything to share his love with Virgil. Just as much as he did with Patton, and wanted to do with Logan. But he knew he couldn't force him, force _either_ of them, into it. That wasn't how relationships worked. If it couldn't work, then that was fine. Virgil was still an amazing person. A person who Roman wanted to spend time with.

Sighing, Virgil looked up. "But, if you really want this... do you? Like, really, really want this?" he asked.

Roman nodded, slowly.

"Then..."

The next moment, Roman felt something press against his lips. Virgil's lips. They were kissing. _Oh, God._ And... it felt good. Different. It was powerful, harsh almost. But, at the same time, it had a sort of softness. Virgil's lips seemed to be trembling, afraid. Virgil was shaking, as well. Roman couldn't blame him. He clearly wasn't experienced in this. 

Still, the kiss felt good. It felt _right_. It was different from the way that Patton would kiss him, and that was _amazing_. Their bodies had pressed against one another, and Virgil had wrapped his arms around Roman's back. Roman found himself doing the same to Virgil, before moving his hands up, touching the back of Virgil's head, stroking through his soft, purple locks, as their lips continued to stick together as one. 

The two could have stayed there forever. Who needed to speak, move, _breath_ , when they had each other? Their hearts would keep the other warm. Their love would keep the other happy. All fear had been thrown out the window. All that remained was their emotions, their desires, their passions. 

But eventually, it had to ended. They pulled apart, both grinning.

"That was..."

Virgil stopped Roman from speaking, as he hugged him again, leaning his head on Roman's shoulder.

"I love you, Princey," he whispered into Roman's ear.

Roman smiled. "I love you too, my emo nightmare."


	19. Logan

The door closed, leaving Logan alone with Patton. Again. The last time this had happened, all those weeks ago, it hadn't particularly gone well, to put it simply. He wasn't hoping for a repeat of what had happened. Or, at least, he told himself that he wasn't hoping for that. Deep down, he knew that was _exactly_ what he wanted. But he knew that couldn't happen. He thought it couldn't happen. He... didn't understand it, and that scared him.

Still, if things did turn out to go in that direction, he was prepared this time. After his talk with Virgil the day before, Logan has finally decided to do his research, and had actually _found_ something. Something that made some sort of sense to him. And, well, he supposed that it wouldn't kill him to try it out. Because he _did_ love Patton. _That_ he couldn't deny. And Roman? That guy wasn't too bad, it would be a lie to say that Logan didn't have at least _some_ feelings for him. And then there was Virgil, as well. Ever since Logan first laid eyes on him, he had felt something. Something he didn't fully understand, but he _did_ understand that it was almost the same way that he felt for Patton. And... for Roman.

Ha. He had only found out about this last night, and yet it made so much sense. The more he thought about it, the more he realised that he had always felt that way. He just didn't know that it was possible. And he couldn't be something that was _im_ possible, right? Except, now he knew that it was possible. And that terrified him even more. Every part of him was screaming at him, telling him to just  _let it happen_ , but he wasn't sure if he was ready for that. Even if all he wanted was to be with them. All of them. 

"Lo? You okay?" A voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He hadn't realised that he had zoned out, and had been staring at the wall for... however long. "Anyone in there?"

Logan's gaze snapped over to Patton. He gave him a small smile. "Yes, I'm fine. I was just thinking."

Patton laughed. "Of course you were. I could almost see the equations floating around your head," he said, waving his arms around in a ridiculous fashion. 

Logan blinked. "What?" He had no idea what Patton was doing, or why he was doing it, or what he had even meant by the statement. 

"Nevermind," Patton said. He leant across the counter. "Anyway, we're alone."

"Roman will be returning, correct?" Logan asked, ignoring Patton's statement.

"Considering he now lives with me, I'd hope so," Patton replied.

"Of course..." He took a deep breath. "Look, I've been meaning to talk to you about something."

Patton tilted his head. "What is it?"

"Remember a few weeks back, when we had that kiss?"

Patton nodded.

"Well, I took into account your explanation afterwards, and also discussed it with Virgil yesterday," Logan explained, hoping that Patton could keep up. "Last night, I decided to do some research, and found loads of articles and posts about... polyamory, I believe the term was, and, well, I suppose what I'm trying to say is..." He looked Patton in the eye, giving him a small smile. "I understand. And, well, I'd... I'd be up for trying it out."

Silence filled the room.

"If the offer still stands, of course. I guess that you'd have to discuss it with Roman, and any other parties involved. I don't know whether or not you two would include Virgil in this, but I certainly wouldn't be opposed to the idea of allowing him to join, although it is entirely up to you and Roman, and-"

Patton cut him off as he wrapped his arms around Logan's waist, burying his face into the taller boys torso. Which, Logan thought, probably wasn't the best idea, since to do so Patton would have had to lean right over the counter. But he wasn't going to spoil his fun. Besides, it was nice. Logan couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you," Patton whispered, "for trying to understand me. And Roman. And... yourself, I guess. The offer is one hundred percent still open."

He pulled away, going back to standing on the other side of the counter. Both boys were smiling wide, happy. And, for the first time, Logan was speechless. Patton managed to do that, somehow. He managed to cloud his reality, but in the best way possible. Patton had a way of making Logan only focus on the positive, or what positive things could happen. When he was around, the only thing on Logan's mind was Patton, and all the good things that came with it. With him, all logic was thrown out the window.

"Actually-" Patton laughed, nervously. "-I wanted to talk about something similar."

Logan opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Typical. He cleared his throat. "What was it?"

"Well, me and Roman-"

"Roman and I," Logan corrected.

Patton smiled, shaking his head. "And that is why I love you."

A light blush formed across Logan's cheek, as he once again struggled to find a reply.

Patton just laughed. "I'm just messing with ya. Thank you for the grammar correction." He smirked. "Anyway, as I was saying, _Roman and I_ were talking yesterday about you, and Virgil, and all that stuff, and, well..." He took a deep breath. "We... You..." He trailed off.

"You came to the same understanding as I did?" Logan completed, hoping that he was getting that right. That's the kind of vibes he got from Patton, at least.

Patton nodded. "Exactly! He's talking to Virgil about it right now. Or, at least, he should be. But, uh, if you get the chance, it might be nice for you to discuss it with him as well. Y'know?"

"Yes, I understand." Logan sighed. "I really believe that this could work. This could be... good."

Patton giggled, and placed his hand on top of Logan's, squeezing it tight. "It will be amazing. Even if it's just the three of us. Or the two of us. However this turns out, it will be _perfect_."

The door swung open, Roman strutting in. His gaze landed on the two boys hands, and he smirked. Logan quickly pulled away.

"I'm guessing things went well when I was gone," he said, making his way over.

"Yes, I, we... yes," Logan replied, once again unsure as to what to say. _Is this how people in love always act?_ He didn't like it one bit. Except, every other feeling that came with it was amazing. He couldn't give it up. Even if it did, on occasion, turn him into a bumbling idiot. 

"In that case..." Roman draped himself over the counter, and looked up at Logan. He brought his hand up to Logan's face, brushing his blue-hair back slightly. "Logan Berry, will you be my boyfriend?"

"Will you also be my boyfriend?" Patton piped up, leaning in closer to Logan.

Logan closed his eyes, and smiled. "Yes. To both of you. I am... happy, to join your relationship, if that it alright with you two."

Roman took Logan's hand, and brought it up to his mouth, planting a kiss on the top. Logan smiled slightly, but drew back.

"Yes, that, um, this is going to take some getting used to," he said, internally screaming.

"That's fine, Lo," Patton replied, "we can take this as slowly as you want."

Logan gave him a single nod. "Thank you. Although, I am curious, what will now happen with Virgil?"

Roman clapped his hands. "Ok, confession time! I- No, he _may_ have just kissed me. So I guess we're together now? He said that he's willing to try it with you guys, too."

Patton squealed with delight. "This is perfect! I love you all, so much."

There was silence between the three for a moment, before Logan quietly asked, "What now?"

Roman smirked. "You'll see."


	20. Patton

"How long is Roman going to be staying here?" his mum asked.

Patton shrugged. "Until he can find another place to stay, I guess?"

"Won't he be able to go back home?" she questioned.

"No, Mum, we've gone over this." He began to tie his cardigan around his waist. "Besides, I wouldn't _let_ him. He doesn't deserve that."

His mum turned around, and glanced down at the cardigan. "Are you _ever_ going to actually wear that thing?"

"Nope."

Patton heard footsteps coming down the stairs, recognising them as his boyfriend's. One of his boyfriends. Roman. Not Logan, or Virgil. Who were now also his boyfriends. The thought of that made him internally scream for joy. Little fireworks had been dancing around in his head since the day before. Everything seemed so perfect. And happy. He was having the time of his life.

Roman walked into the room, and came to stand next to Patton. He wrapped his arm around the shorter boy's shoulder, as Patton wrapped his arm around the taller boy's waist. Patton's mum turned around to face the two, giving them a small smile.

Roman cleared his throat. "Uh, thanks for letting me stay here, Mrs Sanders," he said.

"You know you can call me Carol, Roman," she replied.

He nodded. "Yes, I, uh, was just trying to be formal. I really appreciate this."

She shook her head, still smiling fondly. "You two should get off to school, don't you think?"

Patton smiled, and hook his arm through Roman's. He gave a quick farewell to his mum, before walking out the house, dragging Roman along with him. For a while, they strolled down the street in silence, perfectly content in each other's presence. It had been ages since they had walked to school together. Ages since they had _been_ in school together, actually. What with the whole situation with Roman's aunt and uncle. Ever since the two had been caught together round at Roman's house, Roman hadn't been allowed to leave apart from his 'study sessions' at the café. At least now that Roman lived with Patton, he would be able to go to school.

Patton just hoped that the teachers wouldn't ask his boyfriend about what happened, or about why he was suddenly back. If they did, then Roman would have to explain, and that meant he would have to admit that he no longer lived with his aunt and uncle. Which could cause the school to contact Roman's ex-guardians. Which would _not_ go down well.

God, Patton had to stop worrying. He was starting to sound like Virgil.

"You ready for the audition today?" a voice asked.

Patton turned his head, seeing that Logan had joined the two. He was now walking besides Patton, with his hands in his pockets.

"Audition?" Roman repeated, sounding confused.

"Yes, for the talent show that I informed you of," Logan explained. "The auditions are after school."

"Great!" Patton said, happily. "We'll do amazing."

"Does Virgil know about this?" Roman asked.

Logan's face fell. "Oh... Oh God, I knew I had forgotten something. Do you think he will be okay with it?"

"We'll just have to tell him as soon as possible," Patton suggested. "If we tell him first thing, he should have enough time to prepare himself, and stuff."

"I agree. Virgil will be fine," Roman said, looking straight forward.

"You guys are talking 'bout me?" another voice chimed in, from behind the three boys. They turned around.

"Huh, speak of the devil," Roman muttered.

"Wow. The devil. How flattering," Virgil spoke monotonously, rolling his eyes.

Ignoring the other statements, Patton's smile turned into a grin, as he wrapped his arms around Virgil, pulling him into a hug. "Hi, Verge," he greeted, leaning his head on the others shoulder.

Virgil awkwardly pat Patton on the back, but a smile was still plastered across his face. "Yeah, hey Pat."

Patton quickly planted a kiss on Virgil's cheek, standing on his tiptoes to reach the taller boys face, before pulling away and looking up.

"Anyway, you guys were talking about me?" Virgil repeated. 

"Ah, yes," Logan said, stepping forward. "I was just informing the others that the auditions for that talent show I told you about are today, after school. We were wondering if you would be prepared for that."

Patton noticed fear flash through Virgil's eyes, and wanted more than anything to just go and hug him, comfort him, reassure him that they didn't have to do anything that he wasn't comfortable with. Although, that fear quickly disappeared, and was replaced with a brave smile. Patton let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, it's cool, I'll do the thing," Virgil said, folding his arms.

"Verge, if you don't want to-"

"No, Princey, honestly, it's fine," he interrupted. "I know how excited you are for this, I wouldn't want to tear that down. Besides, you... we..." He took a deep breath. "I can do this."

* * *

Hours later, the four sat outside the hall, where the auditions would be taking place. Patton had dragged Logan along despite him not being 'needed'. It wouldn't feel right without him there, since whenever they rehearsed he was pretty much always in the room. Plus, this entire thing had been Logan's idea. It had been Logan who had signed them up for the audition. It just wouldn't make sense for him to abandon them when the audition actually happened, when he had already gone through all of this trouble. 

There was also the added detail of Patton being hopelessly in love with Logan, so that may have also influenced his decision. He was sure that the others would feel the same. 

Patton glanced over at Virgil, mostly to check if he looked alright. He knew that he would get nervous in these types of situations, and wanted to be ready to help him if got particularly panicky. Although, he looked fine. Or, if he wasn't fine, he was doing a good job of hiding it. 

"You alright, kiddo?" Patton asked, leaning closer.

"Never," he joked, laughing a little. "But, uh, yeah. I'm fine. Or something along those lines."

Patton placed a hand on his knee. "You'll do great."

Virgil smiled. "So will you, Pat. And Roman."

Roman's head shot over. "Oh, I _know_ I'll do great."

"Of course you do, buddy," Patton said, bringing his attention back to the whole group. "I know we'll _all_ do great."

Their names were called by a teacher standing in the doorway. Apart from Logan, of course. He turned to the others, and gave them a thumbs up. 

"Good luck," he wished them, as the three stood and made their way to the door. 

Just before he reached the entrance, Patton turned around to face Logan, and frowning, tilting his head in slight confusion. "Are you not coming in, Lo?" Logan had to come in, right? It wouldn't be the same without him in there. There had been so many times where Patton had almost lost it, almost messed up, but one look at Logan and everything was fine again. Everything went perfectly with Logan there. There was something about his face, his eyes, that calmed him. Reminded him of why he was doing this.

"It would be best if I don't, Patton," Logan said, calmly, "since I am not part of the act. However, I shall remain out here to support and wait for you, if you so desire."

Patton smiled. "Okay, Logan. Thank you. We'll see you soon."

The other two gave Logan a quick goodbye, before following Patton into the hall, walking straight into their destiny.


	21. Virgil

It didn't go terribly.

In fact, the teachers seemed to like them. They were smiling, clapping, complimenting them on their performance. Even though Virgil had been shaking throughout the entirety of it. He was surprised at how little he had messed up, considering the fact that his hands would _not calm down_ , and the fact that he could hardly hear Roman's singing or Patton's strumming over the deafening sound of his own heartbeat. And even when it was all over, when the teachers were ushering them out of the hall, Virgil's thoughts were still racing.

There was no way that the teachers actually liked them. They _must_ have been putting it on, to make them feel better about themselves. The teachers had to encourage their students, inspire them, help them to succeed. That was literally their job. Lying to all these poor children, giving them the false impression that they're going to _do_ something with their life, before they are left in the dirt, alone with no skills and no one to turn to.

Virgil closed his eyes, and took in a deep breath. That... That wasn't true. His brain needed to shut up already. Surely the teachers had genuinely liked them. The performance went well, Virgil thought. They did the song, there wasn't any big mistakes, there was absolutely nothing that Virgil could criticise. Which was rare, for him. That alone was enough proof that it went _extremely well_.

Whether that would be enough to secure them a place in the show? Virgil didn't know. He didn't care, either. If they weren't in the show, that he wouldn't have to feel nervous about it. If they were in the show, then they would get to perform again, and performing was beginning to become something that he actually _enjoyed_. It was a win-win situation.

As the boys stepped out of the hall, Logan immediately approached, greeting them with a nod.

"How did it go?" he asked.

Patton grinned. "Awesome! They seemed to really like it!"

"That's good to hear," Logan replied. "Now, what are you three planning on doing after school?"

"Pat and I have to head back home, we have some stuff to plan for Wednesday," Roman said.

Virgil frowned. "What's happening on Wednesday?"

"It's a surprise."

"I hate surprises."

"I know you do, Panic! at the Everywhere." Roman gave him a small smile. "Don't worry, though. It's a nice surprise."

"Surprises aren't nice when they keep you up at night," Virgil mumbled, looking down.

Roman placed a hand on Virgil's shoulder, and spoke to him a soft voice, trying his best to reassure him. "Listen, I promise you'll love it. It's just dinner, okay? You know, first date and all."

Virgil took a deep breath, and looked up. "Okay, yeah, sure." He buried his hands in his pockets. "That's, uh, cool, or something."

Roman grinned. "Perfect! Well, we should be off. Verge, you heading home too?"

He shook his head. "No. I, uh, not yet." He bit his lip. "Hey, uh, Lo?"

"Yes, Virgil?"

"Is the café open tonight?"

Logan shook his head. "No." Upon Virgil sighing, he held up his hand. "Actually, yes, it is open, but I'm not working."

Virgil blinked. "Oh. Right."

"Would you be interested in, as one would say, 'hanging out' somewhere else?" Logan offered.

"You sure?" Virgil asked, his voice cracking slightly. "I mean, if it's your night off, I wouldn't want to-"

"Don't be ridiculous, Virgil. It's about time we talked outside of my workplace, or school," he reassured him. "Also, the park is nice at night."

Virgil smiled. "Cool. I'll, uh, I'll hang with you, I guess."

"On that note," Roman chimed in, clicking his fingers and shooting finger guns at the two, "Patton and I shall be off. We will see you tomorrow?"

"Yes, farewell to both of you," Logan said, as Patton gave him a hug. Virgil noticed him whisper something into Logan's ear, but before he could ask about it, Patton's arms were suddenly around his waist, drawing Virgil into a tight hug. Virgil melted into the hug, bringing his arms over Patton's shoulders.

Patton planted a kiss on Virgil's cheek, and whispered into his ear, "I love you." Virgil couldn't help but blush. God, he would never get used to this. All of this... affection. Ugh. Something he had never been all that hyped about receiving, and yet he didn't know how he had lived without it. He certainly couldn't live without it again, not after meeting these three idiots. Or... _two_ idiots. Logan hadn't exactly displayed any affection of that sort as of yet. Plus, he could hardly be considered an idiot.

Roman and Patton walked out the school, with Logan and Virgil leaving a few moments after. They parted ways once they reached the gate, with Roman and Patton presumably heading back to Patton's place, and Logan leading the way to the park. Virgil had never gone to the park. Or, at least, he hadn't been in years, so if he had ever gone when he was younger, he didn't remember. He had never particularly been all too keen on the idea. It... scared him, he supposed. So many strangers and potential assholes in one place. He had enough of that to deal with at school, why would he want to extend that torture to his free time?

However, maybe this trip would be good. Logan would be with him. That would _make_ it good. And he knew that he would be safe. 

The two arrived, and sat side-by-side on a bench, staring out across a lake. The sky was already beginning to go dark - he hadn't realised how late it was. Although, Virgil didn't really care. It was better like this. If it was late, there would be less people. He could totally get down with that. Plus, the air was cool. Cold, but not freezing. The perfect temperature, really. But Virgil still found himself sinking into his hoodie for warmth.

"Are you cold?" Logan asked.

Virgil shook his head. "No, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I have a spare jacket, if you need one," Logan offered.

"No, really, I'm fine," he repeated. "It isn't that cold. I'm already wearing the warmest hoodie I own."

Logan nodded. "If you say so."

A silence fell between them. A comfortable silence. It was really no different than a normal night at the café. The two were just happy to be in each others presence. And with the setting sun reflecting and shimmering across the crystal clear water... Everything seemed perfect.

"Hey, Virgil," Logan begun, turning to face him, "I've just realised that we have not actually formally formed a relationship."

Virgil frowned, as he heart began to speed up. "What... what are you saying?"

"Well, considering the current situation with me, you, Patton, and Roman, I believe it is only right if we attempt to... imitate what the other two have, and what we already have with them as well. We would be fools to stay as 'just friends' when everything else in our lives is bringing us closer together. And I'd be willing to take this to the next level, as we have both, presumably, done with the other two."

Virgil stared at him, blankly.

Logan sighed. "I suppose what I am trying to say is..." He took Virgil's hands, bringing them up to his chest. "Virgil Andrews, will you, officially, be my boyfriend?"

Virgil smiled. "Is that even a question, Logan?"

"Yes, that was indeed a qu-" He stopped himself. "Oh. Right. Rhetorical questions. Um, yeah, I suppose I was just looking for proper permission."

"Well, you have my 'proper permission'," Virgil stated. "I will happily be your boyfriend, Logan Berry."

"Ugh, would you _please_ stop mentioning my surname," Logan said, turning away from Virgil. Apparently _that_ little conversation had come to a close. Thankfully. Virgil's heart could return to normal now.

"What's wrong with your surname?" he asked.

"I mean, who has the surname of _Berry_?"

"You do, apparently."

"It's completely ridiculous!" Logan exclaimed. "And I am _not_ ridiculous!"

"Personally, I think it's a nice name. _Logan Berry_ has a sort of ring to it, y'know?"

Logan groaned. "With the name _Logan_ , as well... Did you know there are actual berries called loganberries? It's like my parents intentionally gave me this name to make a pun, or something. And it's still the worse surname as it is."

Virgil smirked. "Would you prefer the surname 'Andrews'?"

"Isn't it a little too early for proposals? We've been dating for less than a minute."

"And in that time, all we've done is have a conversation about how dumb your name is," Virgil joked, leaning in closer to Logan. He leant his head on Logan's shoulder, and looked up, giving him a small smile.

Logan returned the smile. "I could get used to this."

"I don't think I'll ever get used to any of this," Virgil admitted. "But... that's fine."

Logan wrapped his arm behind Virgil's, and stared out at the lake. "It's very beautiful here, tonight."

"Wow." Virgil followed his fri- his _boyfriend's_ gaze. "You... sure do like changing the conversation."

"Shut up," Logan said, although he didn't sounds annoyed. There was some sort of... fondness, to his tone. "You're pretty great, Virgil."

"You're pretty great too, Logan."


	22. Roman

Everything was going to be _perfect_. Roman _had_ to make sure of that. His three ( _three!_ ) boyfriends deserved nothing less.

Besides, everything about this made Roman's heart squeal with excitement. The romance, the event, the outfits, the emotions, the _love_! He loved it all. He loved the planning, the preparations, the date itself. Most importantly, he knew he'd love the looks on his boyfriends' faces when they saw what he had in store for them.

He still had an hour before he and Patton would be meeting up with Logan and Virgil. As long as the other two did their part and met with them at the café, everything would go smoothly. Just as planned. The table was booked for two hours from that time, meaning the four would have plenty of time to make their way down there after meeting up, and maybe a few extra moments to just spend with one another. Roman was planning on walking them down the riverbank, through the park, and he _wanted_ them to take their time. To take in the beauty of the world around them. And the beauty of each other.

"You ready, dear?" Patton shouted through the door.

"No!" He quickly slipped on his red waistcoat. "We still have, like, fifty minutes, anyway!"

"Actually, Ro, we only have half an hour if we want to get to the café on time," Patton reminded him.

"Oh..." Roman took a deep breath, and reached for his makeup bag. "Yeah. I can get ready in that time."

"Can I come in?" Patton asked.

Roman hesitated, but quickly came to a conclusion. "No, my love, I'm, uh, I want it to be a surprise."

Patton giggled. "You always say that."

Roman snorted. "Yes, I suppose I do. Seriously, though, I want it to be a surprise when we see each other's outfits."

"Of course you do," Patton replied, still laughing. "I'll wait for you downstairs."

Roman listened to Patton's footsteps as he walked away, before turning to the mirror. He had claimed the bathroom when he and Patton had began to get ready, since that had a mirror, and he kind of needed a mirror for what he wanted to do. Also, when was it _not_ a good time to look at yourself in the mirror? Whilst he did enjoy looking at the other men in his life, Roman certainly did enjoy staring at himself from time-to-time, as well. Not too much, though. He had places to be, things to see, people to meet! Meaning he had to hurry up with this thing he was trying.

He hadn't worn makeup in public for ages. Or... ever, really. Sure, he would wear it in private, for personal photoshoots and the like, and of course he'd have some on during theatrical performances. He was just never the kind of person to put makeup on for wandering around the streets, or for school. Although he definitely could, and probably _would_ , if he could actually be bothered to do this every day. He was only doing it now because it was a special occasion. Also, it meant Virgil wouldn't be the odd one out.

After messing around with foundation and blush and the like, he looked at himself in the mirror, considering his options. He was wearing red, so that would be the obvious choice for the colour scheme, but... what about his hair? That was dyed all sorts of colours. He could attempt to replicate that.

He took out his eyeshadow palette, and began to apply it to his eyelids, creating a gradient of all the colours, from red to purple, eventually fading it out over the sides of his face. He then smudged some sparkly gold eyeshadow underneath his eyes, similar to what Virgil would usually do, only a hundred times more fabulous. The only thing left for his eyes was eyeliner, which he did using the only black that he owned, flicking it off into a sharp wing. He quickly applied some darker red lip gloss, and sprayed some gold-glitter dye into his hair, before stepping back and taking it all in.

He looked _great_. He was _so_ ready for this.

Roman left the bathroom, and walked downstairs to the kitchen, where Patton was talking with his mum. He wrapped his arms around Patton's shoulders, grinning.

"Hey, honey," he greeted.

Patton looked up at Roman, gasping a little in delight. "You look beautiful, Ro!"

Roman laughed. "Thanks. I figured I'd try something new."

"It suits you," Patton complimented. He giggled, and added, " _Suits_ you! Get it? 'Cause, you're wearing a suit?"

Roman smiled fondly. "That was great, Patton. But, I mean, it's really no surprise that I'm wearing a suit, we _are_ going on a date, after all. You're also wearing a-" He looked down. "That is not a suit."

Patton was wearing a dress. A flippin' adorable one, at that. The flowing skirt hung just above the knees, connected to top cutting off with a v-shape at the neck. It was a pastel blue colour, decorated with little silver and gold flowers coming together to form a beautiful, glittery pattern. Roman looked back up at Patton's face, nothing the light blush on his cheeks, and the... flowers, in his hair. Flowers of all different colours, lined up in a neat little row across his forehead. That was... a flower crown. He was wearing a flower crown. Roman could barely stop himself from screaming in excitement.

"You look... _stunning_!"

Patton giggled. "I've been waiting to wear this my entire life."

"You know what, it was well worth the wait."

Carol hummed. Roman looked up at her. He had almost forgotten that she was also there. "I'm still not overly keen on you going out in that, Patton."

"Mum, it'll be fine," Patton replied.

"You don't exactly see guys in dressed walking down the street, though. Or going to restaurants."

"If I can go out wearing makeup," Roman interrupted, "then Patton can go out wearing a dress. It's fine."

Carol sighed. "If you say so. You boys had better be off. Don't stay out too late."

"Bye, Mum!" Patton said, as he grabbed Roman's hand and lead him out of the house.

* * *

The two walked down the street, their fingers still intertwined. The full moon shone bright in the sky, surrounded by millions of sparkling stars. The cool breeze brushed against Roman's bare arm. He didn't particularly mind about the cold. Besides, Patton would probably be colder.

"It's nice out tonight," Patton stated. "You can really see all the stars."

"You're not too cold, are you, sweetheart?" Roman asked.

Patton shook his head. "No, I'm fine."

Roman smiled, but didn't reply. The two walked in silence to the café, ignoring the looks they received from people passing by. They were pretty used to it at that point, anyway. Usually, they wouldn't even notice it. Roman supposed that it was more noticeable tonight because there would have been more stares, more confused glances. Which was understandable. Stupid, but understandable. It wasn't every day that you saw two dudes walking down the street, one with intense makeup and the other in a dress. He didn't even care what others thought, though. They were happy like this.

When they reached the café, they found Logan waiting outside, wearing a dark blue suit over a black shirt, along with a pale blue bowtie. He appeared to be staring at the sky with a blank expression, although as they got closer, Roman noticed a small smile appear. Patton went up to hug him, burying his face in Logan's chest. Roman grinned, and followed Patton, standing a bit to the side. 

"You look amazing, Logan," Roman complimented, since Patton seemed to excited to speak. 

Logan nodded. "As do you, Roman. I see you've attempted makeup."

"Attempted?" he repeated. 

"Succeeded at, I should say," Logan quickly said. "I didn't mean to make it sound as if I thought it did not go well, although I suppose it could have come off that way. I apologise. It really does look brilliant."

Roman smiled. "Don't sweat it. And, thanks."

"Thanks from me, as well."

"Where's Virgil?" Patton asked, having seemingly regained the ability to speak. He pulled away from Logan, joining Roman at his side. 

"He's sitting inside," Logan stated. "Feel free to go in. I think I'll stay out here, though. Say, what time are we leaving?"

Roman quickly checked the time on his phone. "I have a table booked for fifty minutes from now, so I reckon we should leave in around five minutes." Logan hummed in conformation. "I'll go in and get Virgil," Roman added, beginning to make his way inside. 

Virgil was found sitting by the bookshelf in the corner, his back to the door. Nobody else was in the café - Roman presumed it was closed on that night. Taking a deep breath, he made his way over to Virgil, and gently touched him on the shoulder. 

His head shot around, with a murderous glint in his eye. Roman stumbled back slightly. However, upon Virgil seeing Roman, he seemed to calm down a bit.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Roman apologised. 

"Don't worry," Virgil replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "You look nice, though. And one hundred percent gayer."

Roman laughed. "You look nice too, Verge. With your-" He squealed. "Oh my God, you took my advice!"

Virgil frowned. "Your... what?"

"Freckles!" Roman exclaimed. Virgil was completely _covered_ in them. No foundation, either. Meaning his skin looked slightly darker than normal, as well. Healthier. But he still had the eyeshadow, almost an exact replica of what Roman had done the day of their performance, except with more purple. Which Roman thought looked awesome. 

Virgil blushed. "Oh, yeah, that, I, uh... yeah." He stood up, and moved closer to Roman. 

"And with a leather jacket, too! And the jeans, and white shirt, and-" He smirked. "You look like you've just come out of _Grease_."

"Wow. Thank you. That was exactly what I was going for." He rolled his eyes. 

"Wait, really?" Roman gasped. 

"No, dumbass," Virgil snapped, beginning to leave the café. Just before he reached the door, he stopped, and turned around. "But, uh, really, thanks. I love you, Princey."

Roman smiled. "I love you too."

* * *

After a peaceful walk through the park, the four arrived at the restaurant, and took their seats at a booth near the back, close to the kitchens. Everything had gone exactly as planned, which Roman was thankful for. Plus, the others seemed to be happy with the choice of restaurant. They ordered their food without a problem (apart from a few odd glances from their waiter) and, once it arrived, had tucked in straight away, perfectly content. 

"So, how are you guys?" Patton asked, breaking the silence. 

"I am feeling alright, Patton," Logan replied, "thank you for asking. How are you?"

Patton grinned. "I'm feeling awesome! Sitting here with my three favourite boys?" He sighed, happily. "I love it!" 

"That is good to hear."

Roman glanced over at Virgil, who had hunched up in the corner. He had stopped eating, apparently, even though there was still food piled onto his plate. He also seemed to be staring intently at his glass, as if it had somehow offended him. Roman frowned. 

"Hey, Verge, you okay?" he asked. 

Virgil looked up. "Huh?" He blinked. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine."

"You su-"

"I'm fine!" He sighed. "I'm... I'm fine."

"You know, Virgil," Logan began, "if you are uncomfortable in this place, there is nothing stopping you from leaving for a breath of fresh air. I am willing to accompany you."

He shook his head. "No, honestly guys, I'm fine. I'm just... not used to this sort of stuff." 

Patton wrapped an arm around Virgil's shoulder. "And that is okay. Something a little new won't hurt you."

Virgil nodded. "Yeah, I guess. Or, at least, being with you guys won't hurt me." He let out a quiet laugh, as a smile formed across his face. "I love you, all of you," he added, looking around at the others. 

Roman grinned. "We love you too, our emo nightmare."

* * *

The four sat down by the side of the lake, staring up at the moon. Roman had decided to bring them back to the park after they had finished dinner (which he had happily paid for, in full). Nobody else was in the park, either, meaning the four of them could do basically whatever they wanted. There was nobody there to stop them. 

"Hey, Roman," Virgil spoke up, "I dare you to jump into the lake."

Roman raised his eyebrows. "Is that a challenge?"

Logan raised his hand. "Roman, no-"

He was already beginning to take off his waistcoat. How could he refuse a dare? Besides, it wasn't as if anything could go wrong. He had been in this lake before. When he cousins came over from Spain to visit, they would all go swimming here. They had never had a problem before. 

"Roman, this is highly dangerous, I advise that you don't-"

Logan was cut off by Virgil's laughter. "Dude, I didn't mean it, y'know."

Roman looked over. "You dared me. It isn't like I haven't done this before." He took off his shoes, and unbuttoned his shirt. 

"It's, like, midnight. And almost winter. It'll be cold," Virgil mentioned. 

Roman shrugged, slipped the shirt off his shoulders, and jumped in. Virgil was right - the water was cold. But Roman didn't care. He liked the feeling of the waves crashing against his skin, and of the water rushing through his hair. And he didn't have much of a problem holding his breath under water. He supposed the others would be worrying, though. He kicked off the ground, and swam up to the surface, smiling at the others. 

"See? Perfectly fine," he shouted, beginning to swim back to the shore. 

"You're insane!" Virgil shouted back. 

Roman reached the side, and kept himself up with his chin resting on his folded arms. "I know."

"Are you not cold?" Logan asked, sounding concerned. 

"Not with you here," Roman replied, smirking. 

Logan frowned. "Why would me being in your presence prevent you from being cold in a freezing lake?" There was silence for a moment, before a light blush formed across his cheeks. "Oh, wait, was that your attempt at flirting?"

Roman nodded. "Ya."

He smiled. "Well, thank you, I think."

Patton touched Roman's arm. "Well, this is all nice, but you should probably get out of the lake before you end up hurt."

Roman groaned. " _Fine._ " He slowly hoisted himself up onto the ground, and turned around, his legs still hanging in the water. 

"You do realise you'll have to walk home soaking wet now?" Logan reminded him. 

"Yeah, my mum is going to kill you," Patton added. 

Realisation suddenly dawned on Roman. "Dang..." He couldn't go back to Patton's like this. He'd have to explain himself to Carol, and she'd probably freak. And if that happened and she suddenly didn't want Patton to be hanging out with Roman anymore, he'd have no place to stay. He _definitely_ couldn't go back to his old house like this, especially not with the makeup, which was probably dripping down his face at that point. 

"You can come round to mine," Virgil offered. 

Roman frowned. "Your parents won't mind?"

He shook his head. "Nah. They're out of town."

"Oh, well..." He still hesitated. The last time he had stayed with one of his boyfriends when the guardians were out hadn't exactly gone well. Although, Virgil was a lot more careful than Patton. And, as far as he was aware, Virgil's parents weren't raging homophobes. He supposed that nothing could really go wrong. And it was better than turning up at Patton's place soaking wet. "Sure."

"Cool."

The four didn't leave the park for another half-an-hour or so. They sat with one another by the lake, still staring at the moon in silence. They were lucky to have each other, at least. 


	23. Logan

Logan had never felt that good in his entire life. He had never really _felt_ before in his entire life. Or, at least, if he had, he had never understood it. But when he was with those three, everything seemed perfect. For once in his life, he was completely sure of his feelings. He knew that he loved them, loved them all. And he knew that they loved him back. Having that knowledge was the best feeling in the world.

He hadn't arrived home that night until one in the morning, but he didn't go to sleep straight away. Which was not like him at all, but he couldn't go to sleep, not after all those intense feelings rushing straight to him. Thoughts were racing around his brain, screaming too loud for him to get any peace. He definitely couldn't sleep when all he could think about were those boys.

He turned on the lamp on his desk, and grabbed a couple pages of lined paper, along with his best pen. He had to document this event. These emotions. He began to write, not thinking at first. He let his hand move across the paper, watching the ink swirl and transform his random thoughts into a something coherent. A poem, he supposed. Or a song. In his mind, they were basically the same thing.

Everything that he had given to the others as a 'song' had simply been a poem that he wrote when he needed to let something out. This was any different, he supposed. Maybe this could just be the next song for them to work on. If they wanted to, of course. This was probably the _most_ personal thing he had ever written. He was _really_ letting out his thoughts in this one.

"Logan?" a voice called, from the door.

Logan looked up, spotting his dad standing just outside his bedroom. He had left the door open, of course. Like a complete idiot.

"What are you still doing up?" his dad asked.

"I couldn't sleep," Logan replied, truthfully. "I was just writing."

"It's a school night, son," his dad said.

"I am aware." He put his pen down, and packed the paper away in his school bag. "I have finished now, anyway. I'll head to bed."

His dad nodded. "Good. Goodnight, Logan."

"See you in the morning, Dad."

He turned the lamp off, and listened as his dad shut the door and walked down the hallway. Letting out a sigh of relief, Logan climbed into bed, and shut his eyes. He had written the poem, at least. He could show the others tomorrow. Perhaps they could do it for the talent show - Logan had checked earlier that day, and they had made it through.

As he drifted off to sleep, their faces were all he could see. They were really all he could think about.

This was new. Different. Exciting. And Logan was loving every minute of it. He loved the way that his heart beat faster whenever he was around them. He loved the way that they would smile, laugh, just... be happy. He loved the way that he loved them. That they understood each other.

Sometimes he felt as if they were the same person. As if when they were created, they were all separated, and now that they were back together, everything seemed right. Like they were puzzle pieces that, when put together, created something beautiful. Like they were components of a computer, that would only work then they all worked with each other.

He realised that he was just listing off things that he had included in that poem. He had to stop with that. He had to sleep. He would see them tomorrow, at least. That was enough to convince him that sleeping would be the best option at that moment.

Soon enough, the world slipped away, as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The next day, Logan had stood by their tree at lunch, waiting for the others to arrive. He hadn't seen them in the morning, surprisingly. He supposed they were busy. He didn't really care too much, no matter how loud his mind was screaming at him to just run to them.

He still had the poem - song, whatever - in his bag, ready to show the others. He hoped it would be alright. And that they would have time to actually do something with it, if they did want to use it for the talent show. Although, they only had until tomorrow night until the performance, so Logan wasn't entirely sure. He was hopeful, however.

Eventually, he spotted Roman and Virgil walking up the hill. He frowned as he focused in on Roman, who did not look like himself. Was that... _Virgil's jacket_?

"Roman, are you wearing Virgil's clothing?" Logan asked, once the pair had arrived. Now that he could have a closer look, Logan realised that Roman was also wearing a pair of ripped skinny jeans, and a My Chemical Romance t-shirt underneath the black hoodie.

Roman sighed. "I didn't have any clothes at Virgil's house. Turns out we're a similar size, even if he _is_ a little taller than me. He let me borrow some of his stuff for today."

"Also, you look hot as hell in that MCR t-shirt," Virgil added.

"Yes. This was all Virgil's evil plan to get me in band merchandise and ripped jeans," Roman said, a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

"Yup," Virgil confirmed, popping the 'p'.

"God, he had _so_ many band t-shirts, as well!" Roman exclaimed. "Like, I swear to God, half of those bands I had never even heard of. They all _screamed_ Virgil, though."

"I let him pick one out," Virgil said. "Gonna be honest, I was kinda surprised when he want for _My Chemical Romance_."

"Totally didn't choose it because the name technically has my name in it."

Logan frowned. "What are you-"

"Y'know, _roman_ ce? Roman?"

"Ah." Logan nodded. "Yeah, I got it."

"Also, _Welcome to the Black Parade_ is a jam," he added.

Virgil raised an eyebrow. "You like MCR?"

"Why else would I choose this top?"

"That..." Virgil shrugged. "Yeah, that makes sense." He smirked. "Although, still kinda surprising to find out that you're a closeted emo."

"Not exactly closeted, definitely not emo," Roman countered.

"Whatever you say, Princey."

Patton came running up the hill from the back, and threw his arms around Logan. Logan didn't object - instead, he just laughed, and pulled Patton closer. Not something he usually did. Wow, this really _was_ different.

Patton leant in, planting a small kiss on Logan's cheek. "Hey, beautiful."

A light blush formed across his face. "Er, salutations, Patton."

" _Salutations_ ," Patton repeated. "You're so cute, Loggie."

His blush darkened.

"Okay, gays, chill out," Virgil interrupted. He sat down, with the others following suit. "Now, lets get down to business-"

" _To defeat!_ " Roman shouted.

" _The huns!_ " Patton joined in.

Logan sighed. "That... That was not what Virgil was on about, at all, I'm presuming."

"You guys are great, though," Virgil said. "But, yeah, I was not talking about Mulan. I was gonna mention the talent show tomorrow."

Logan clicked his fingers. "Yes. I was going to show you guys something." He opened his bag, and handed the piece of paper to Roman, who read the lyrics out loud. It felt... weird, having the words read to him. It didn't sound the same as how he read it in his head. And he picked up on so many mistakes, so many lines that he believed he messed up. Possibly because he wrote it at two in the morning, when he was half asleep. However, he was relieved when the others sounded impressed.

"This is brilliant, Logan!" Roman complimented, after completing his read through. "Do you... Can we use this tomorrow?"

"If you want to." Logan smiled. "Assuming you have time to put it together, of course."

Virgil bit his lip. "Would there be enough time? The school have already put together the lighting for our other song. And we haven't even _started_ this. It is good, though."

"I can sort out the lightning," Logan offered. "I used to help out with the lighting for assemblies, I think I can quickly put something together. Are you guys coming round to the café later?"

The three nodded.

"Then you can sort it out tonight. You did the first song in one night, why not this one?"

They looked at each other, performing some sort of silent communication, then looked back at Logan, smiling.

"Let's do this," Patton decided.


	24. Patton

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song used in this chapter is 'Here Comes a Thought' from the show Steven Universe.

The song was really coming together, Patton thought. Even if they had only worked on it for a couple of hours. It had just seemed to come naturally to them. Which made sense, considering it was their story. Well, Logan's story, but he supposed it applied to all of them. The story of how they came together, and fell in love.

The night before, they had all been together in the café, with Roman, Virgil, and himself working hard on the song, whilst Logan quickly put together a light show. Now, they had a mere couple hours before they needed to be at school to prepare for the show, which was starting at around seven. The four of them had decided to just hang at the café. They had already done a few run-throughs, so they were ready. They just needed to... chill out, a bit. Relax. Mentally prepare themselves.

Patton clapped his hands to get the others attention. "You know what we should do? A little jam session!"

Virgil frowned. "But we just- I thought we-"

"It's all just for a bit of fun!" Patton interrupted. "Nothing to do with the performance. It's actually to take our mind _off_ the performance." He grabbed his ukulele. "You guys know Steven Universe, right?"

"Yeah, but I don't think-"

Patton had already began to strum. Sighing, Virgil joined him, sitting next to him on the edge of the table. Roman stood next to Virgil, as Patton began to sing.

" _Take a moment to think of just,_  
_Flexibility, love and trust._ "

Roman smiled, and joined in for the next line.

" _Take a moment to think of just,_  
_Flexibility, love and trust._ "

Patton glanced over at Logan, who had stood behind the counter. Which wasn't unusual, for him, but a part of Patton wished he would join them. Maybe he just didn't want to sing. Or didn't know Steven Universe. In which case, Patton _had_ to show it to him at some point.

" _Here comes a thought,_  
_That might alarm you,_  
_What someone said,_  
_And how it harmed you._ "

Patton glanced over at Virgil, who had brought his feet up onto the table, and was hugging his knees. He seemed to be enjoying the song, but didn't look as if he wanted to sing along. Even if that was what Patton wanted. He couldn't force Virgil to do anything, though. At the very least, Patton just hoped that this song would help him to relax.

" _Something you did,_  
_That failed to be charming,_  
_Things that you said,_  
_Are suddenly swarming._ "

Patton glanced over at Roman, who appeared to be really getting into the song. Which was no surprise, really. He _was_ the singer of the group, even if the other two weren't that bad. He was the best out of all three. And he enjoyed it the most. What caught Patton's attention, however, was that Roman was looking at Virgil that entire time. Maybe he had the same idea as Patton - using this song to help Virgil feel better about the upcoming performance.

" _And oh, you're losing sight,_  
_You're losing touch,_  
_All these little things,_  
_Seem to matter so much._ "

Roman looked over, and locked eyes with Patton. They made a silent agreement that they were gonna get Virgil to sing, no matter what.

" _That they confuse you,_ " Patton sang.

" _That I might lose you,_ " Roman completed.

They both looked over at Virgil, and gave him a small smile as they sang the next part in unison.

" _Take a moment, remind yourself,_  
_To take a moment and find yourself,_  
_Take a moment and ask yourself,_  
_If this is how we fall apart._ "

Patton stopped strumming for a moment, as him and Roman stared at Virgil, smirking. Patton raised an eyebrow, tilting his head slightly.

Virgil sighed. "Fine."

Patton smiled, and continued strumming as Virgil sang the next line.

" _But it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not._ "

Patton was taken aback slightly by how deep and smooth Virgil's voice was, how _beautiful_ it was. However, he quickly composed himself, and sang the next line alone.

" _It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay._ "

Roman picked up for the next line, still staring at Virgil.

" _You've got nothing, got nothing, got nothing, got nothing to fear._ "

And then, for the final line, they all sing together in a perfect harmony.

" _I'm here, I'm here, I'm here._ "


	25. Virgil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little trigger warning before we begin, there is a description of a panic attack in this chapter.

The three of them had sat down in the green room, waiting to be called up on the stage for a final rehearsal. Mostly to check all the sound and lighting worked before the show. He just hoped that Logan's light sequence had worked out, and that he had managed to get it to the tech crew. They had already informed the school that they would be performing a different song, and the school didn't seem to have a problem with that, thankfully.

The group was finally called up onto the stage. They made their way out, and stood by their respective instruments. The first thing he noticed was the fact that, instead of a piano, they had provided him with a keyboard. Which should be fine. It _would_ be fine. Everything would turn out okay. He had set the keyboard to grand piano, so it should sound roughly the same, and it wasn't as if he had never used a keyboard before.

The second thing he noticed was just how _big_ the hall was. He had never really payed attention during assemblies and the like, but now that he was on stage... He shuddered. This room was going to be filled with people, people that he _knew_ , people that knew him, people that hated him, all staring at him, with no easy way for him to escape. His heart stared pounding in his chest.

 _This is just a rehearsal,_ he told himself. _You don't have to worry, Verge._

 _Teachers are watching,_ the voice in the back of his mind told him.

 _And they'll be watching later, they've watched before, they're not a problem,_ Virgil countered.

 _The_ student _tech crew are watching._

_They're massive nerds, they're not a problem._

_Later, people who_ hate _you will be watching._

Virgil didn't have an argument for that. It was too late, anyway. Patton had begun strumming, and he needed to get ready for his part on piano.

The third thing he noticed was how blinding the lights were. How annoyed they were. He had never performed on a stage like this, and he could hardly _see_ the rest of the hall because of the bright lights. He supposed that was the whole point, in order to make them less anxious about the audience watching them. But, in Virgil's case, it just made him _more_ anxious. If he couldn't see the audience, who was to say what they were doing? They could be hiding anything from him. And Virgil would never know. Anything could happen. Any _bad thing_ could happen.

The fourth thing he noticed was just how _hot_ it was on stage. He had only been there a few minutes, but he was already starting to sweat. So much for his makeup - he would have to redo that. And it was even worse in his big hoodie. He supposed he would probably have to take his hoodie off for the performance. He hated showing his arms.

...maybe he could just keep his hoodie on. Or get a lighter jacket. There was no way he was going to show his arms.

It came to a part of the song where they stopped for a brief second, and all the lights went out, plunging them into darkness. This just made Virgil panic. What was going on? Had the power gone down? Would they be stuck in this eternal darkness forever? He found himself holding his breath.

The lights came back on, and he let out a relieved sigh as they continued the song. He supposed that was just part of the lighting. Logan was clever like that. Making it go completely dark during the one part when they aren't playing.

However, Virgil's heart was still beating faster than usual. The final thing he noticed was that he _could not do this._

After they got off stage, Virgil immediately ran off with his bag, mumbling a quick excuse about his makeup, and headed straight to the toilets. He wasn't lying about his makeup - he _did_ need to redo it. But that wasn't the only reason. He just... needed to be alone. To calm down.

He locked himself in a stall, and sat on top of the closed toilet seat, bringing his legs up and hugging his knees. He took several deep breaths, in and out, but it didn't stop him from crying. Or make his heart slow down. He tried to focus on a spot on the wall, but all he could imagine was that hall filled with people, staring at him, laughing at him. The longer he tried to breath steadily, the harder it became. 

He didn't know how long he had been in there for. Time was meaningless for him. But nobody had come into the toilets. He was safe there. He was away from the crowds of people who would be piling into the hall at that exact moment. He had heard people running down the hallway outside, excited. Their screams were loud, too loud, louder than they should have been. They were surrounding him, laughing at him, laughing at all his misfortune, at all his failures, at how  _pathetic_ he was. 

His heart still wouldn't calm down. His sight was beginning to become blurry, even if all he was doing was staring at the same spot on the wall. He buried his face in his knees, wishing that the tears would stop pouring out his eyes, wishing that his heart would go back to normal, wishing that his thoughts would _shut up_. That the world would shut up. That everything could go quiet, and he would be left in peace, and he could actually think, could actually  _breath_. 

He heard footsteps outside the door. In the room. And banging on _his_ door. And his name being called. Over and over. Taunting him. The banging, and the shouting, and the _banging, and the shouting, and-_

"Virgil, are you okay?" He recognised that voice. That soft, happy voice. His friend. Patton.

He tried to reply, but no words came out.

"Virgil, can I come in?" Patton asked. His voice was quieter now. No more shouting. No more banging.

Virgil took a deep breath (not that that helped) and reached out, unlocking the door. Patton immediately came closer, and crouched down slightly so he was eye level with Virgil.

"Virgil, can you breath with me? In for four, hold for seven, out for eight," Patton whispered. He began to do that himself, counting on his fingers. Virgil did his best to replicate it. After a few tries, or maybe a lot of tries, he finally managed to keep up with Patton.

Patton was holding his hand, as well. Virgil hadn't realised before, but that simple gesture helped him to calm down _a lot_. Maybe it was just the presence of Patton that did this. This was working. His heart rate was almost back to normal.

"See? You're okay, we're okay," Patton said, calmly. Virgil nodded in agreement. "Are you okay to do the show?" Virgil nodded again. "Great. Now, let's sort out that cool makeup!"

Virgil let out a small laugh, and smiled. Patton lead him to the mirror, where Virgil took his makeup kit out of his bag and opened it. He quickly washed off the little makeup that remained, before immediately redoing it. It didn't take long. Virgil was used to it at that point.

The two left the toilets, and returned to the green room, ready for the performance. This was going to be fine. This was going to be _fine_.


	26. Roman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song in this chapter is called 'The Same Four Notes' (woah, like the title!), written by myself. There is currently no way to listen to it, but who knows there could be in the future.

Roman positioned himself at the microphone. The room was _filled_ with potential adoring fans, and he was _so_ ready for this. The song had come along nicely, even if the lyrics were a little fast-paced, way faster than he was used to. It was going to go amazingly, though. After watching the other acts from backstage, he was almost certain that they could win.

"Hello," he said to the audience, figuring it was best to do a short introduction. "This is a song called 'The Same Four Notes', written by my-" He paused. Boyfriend probably wasn't the best word to use here, not in front of basically the entire school. "-by my good friend, Logan, and composed by our pianist, Virgil. So, let's just get straight to it."

He gave a quick nod to the tech crew in the box, and listened into Patton's strumming, counting in his head for when he was supposed to come in. As he sang the first line, Virgil's piano playing begun as well.

" _I never understood,_  
_A simple thing like love,_  
_I never thought that I,_  
_Could_ _ascend to the sky._ "

And so it begins. Roman was as ready as he'd ever be. And the lyrics were _perfect_. Nothing less from Logan, he supposed.

" _I never really got,_  
_Why people had such luck,_  
_I never knew why,_  
_These people had to cry_."

The song had started off slower, at least, although it seemed to sped up with every verse. That was just to prepare him for the chorus, which was _fast_. This would be fine, though. He had rehearsed and rehearsed, over and over until he got it right. He wouldn't let himself make in mistakes. He had to make sure that everything was perfect, just as planned. 

" _I guess I thought that I,_  
_Would never hear those lies,_  
_I guess I thought that we,_  
_Would never get to be._ "

He hadn't noticed before, but now that he was paying attention to the lyrics themselves, he understood just how sad this all was. Logan had written this. This was his experience falling in love with them. He supposed it made sense for Logan to be conflicted over it, though. It wasn't exactly your typical relationship. And with the added complication that Logan didn't understand emotions that well to begin with... Roman really couldn't blame him. 

" _But these thoughts are racing 'round my mind,_  
_Pulling me to darker times,_  
_Fear and hate and pain and love,_  
_Everything that I'm scared off._ "

There it was. The chorus. Slower than he remembered, but that was probably just because of all the practising. That was something that always confused Roman - the longer he worked on something, the longer he listened to something, the slower it seemed to be. The more he heard something, the easier to became to understand. Possibly because he grew used to it, so he knew what was coming. Or maybe it was just him.

" _But then I see you standing there,_  
_I didn't think that it'd be fair,_  
_As you pull me closer and we'll see,_  
_That we were always meant to be._ "

Roman took the microphone out of the stand, and began to walk along the stage a little, heading closer to the front. He could do that, right? This was just the kind of song that got you pumped. Like you could run a marathon whilst listening to this. He couldn't help himself. He had done it in rehearsals, at least. 

" _Thoughts are racing 'round my mind,_  
_Pulling me to lighter times,_  
_And I realise that I can go,_  
_And love you us as the same, four, notes._ "

On those final three words of the chorus, the others joined in, Virgil singing at a lower harmony and Patton at a higher one. It seemed to work. The audience seemed to like it, at least. It also slowed down for the end of that last line, which Roman was thankful for. It slowed _right_ down for the next couple of verses, as well. Kind of like how time seemed to slow down whenever he was in contact with those that he loved, and how his heart sped up whenever he gazed into their eyes. 

" _We seem to stick together,_  
_You think that we're forever,_  
_I still don't understand,_  
_How it all could be so grand._ "

Roman scanned the audience as he sang, making his way back to centre stage. He was trying to search for Logan in the crowd, but couldn't seem to find him. Maybe he was further to the back. That would make sense. However, the people on the first few rows were all smiling. They really seemed to like it. That made Roman's heart soar with happiness, and made him even more excited to be performing. It seemed to give him the energy that he so desperately needed. 

" _But I guess I have to know,_  
_Why these thoughts won't let me go,_  
_And I guess its plain to see,_  
_That I want you to stay with me._ "

There it was. The highest note, on that final word. Roman struggled to reach that high, but just about made it. At least for the rest he could go deeper. And slower. The next verse was way slower. And the others joined in, once again harmonising.

" _To stay with me._  
_To stay with you._  
_To stay with us._  
_To stay forever._ "

He took a deep breath, preparing himself for the next chorus. Which came sooner than he expected. He stumbled slightly over the first few words, but quickly recovered, getting back into the swing of the song.

" _Thoughts are racing 'round my mind,_  
_Pulling me to lighter times,_  
_Fear and hate and pain and love,_  
_Everything that I'm scared off._ "

A few people in the audience were shouting out the lyrics with Roman. That just made him even more pumped. This was going perfectly. The audience  _already_ knew the song! Trust Logan to come up with something that catchy. 

" _But then I see you standing there,_  
_And I know it's only fair,_  
_That I learn I have to go,_  
_And love us as the same, four, notes._ "

The sudden change in the second chorus seemed to throw the few audience members that were singing off, but they quickly figured out what was going on, as more people tried to joined in to sing the final few words along with the three of them.

" _'_ _Cause we were separated,_  
_Before we learnt to love,_  
_And we have to stay like this,_  
_'Cause we fit just like a glove._ "

The bridge section. It slowed down for this part, by a lot. It also seemed to become quieter, with only Virgil's playing Patton in an arpeggio, as Patton stood up and made his way closer to Roman, still holding his ukulele. He joined in for the next verse.

" _We are puzzle pieces,_  
_That fit together perfectly,_  
_And we must stay like this,_  
_To show the picture beautifully._ "

Roman and Patton were sharing the microphone at that point, their bodies touching. They couldn't help but smile. This _was_ their dream. Performing together, in front of a proper audience. Standing right next to each other. Except, now they could share that dream with two others. Logan, who had written these words, and was out there, somewhere in the audience, watching and, hopefully, smiling with them. And Virgil, who was stood at the keyboard behind them, and who joined in for the next verse.

" _And we are lost components,_  
_For a machine that we can build,_  
_And if we come together like this,_  
_Then we can all be filled,_  
_With,_  
_Love._ "

Those final three words shared the same melody as the final three words of the chorus. In doing so, it had the same harmony. The same beautiful harmony, as these three boys came together as one. Maybe Logan was out there, singing as well. Roman hoped so. 

The stage went dark for a moment, as everything stopped. A few people began clapping, before the lights came back and Virgil and Patton continued playing. The final chorus. They were almost done, and the audience were as excited as ever.

" _'Cause these thoughts are racing 'round my mind,_  
_Pulling me to darker times,_  
_Fear and pain and hope and love,_  
_Everything that I'm proud of._ "

The lights were going crazy, shining every colour of the rainbow onto the stage. Roman tried to hold back laughter. He guessed that was Logan's way of subtly including the gay. It fit them perfectly, honestly.

" _And then I see you standing there,_  
_I guess I know that it is fair,_  
_That when you pull me closer we,_  
_Know that we are meant to be._ "

Here it goes. The final chorus. The song was so close to a final. All three of the boys were singing, as well as some members of the audience. It was time for a big finish.

" _Thoughts are racing 'round my mind,_  
_Pulling me to lighter times,_  
_And I know that we can go,_  
_And love us as the same, four, notes._ "

Roman finally spotted Logan in the crowd, and made eye contact, smiling as the lights around them dimmed. Everything had worked out fine. Everything was just as it was supposed to be. 


	27. Logan

Applause rung out through the hall. People began to stood up, Logan being one of them. He locked eyes with Roman, who was panting for breath. The performance truly had gone well. And the applause didn't seem to stop until the three had made their way off stage, and a couple of teachers made their way back on. Logan sat back down, and listened in closely.

"And that concludes our show for the night," the teacher announced. "And, my, what a show it has been! It's always a pleasure to display the talent we have at this school, and we sincerely hope that you enjoyed the performance."

Another round of applause, before the second teacher picked up the speech. "Our panel of judges have been discussing who they believe the winner should be. We shall now hand it over to them."

The teachers stood to the side, as the head of the judges, the headmaster _himself_ , came up to the microphone. He cleared his throat, and looked around the hall.

"I do admit that it was difficult to come to a final decision," he began, "considering just how amazing all of the acts were. However, there can only be one winner. And that winner is-"

"Same four notes!" a random audience member cried. 

Everything went silent for a moment. It was clear to Logan that that was not the act that the headmaster was about to shout out, due to the look of dismay on his face as more people began to shout that out. A chant erupted throughout the audience, with everyone there screaming those three words at the top of their lungs. Some people began to clap along. Logan joined in - they deserved to win, he thought. Considering the amount of work they had put in. But maybe Logan was biased. They _were_ his boyfriends. And he had written the song. 

Logan watched carefully as the headmaster made his way back to the table of judges, and leant in. They whispered something amongst themselves, though nobody else in the audience seemed to notice it. Maybe because they were too busy chanting. Or maybe they were just that oblivious. But Logan knew. He knew that if the audience hadn't begun a chant, his three true loves wouldn't have stood a chance. 

The headmaster returned to centre stage, and raised his hand, signalling for the audience to quiet down. "After much consideration," he continued, "we have decided upon a winner. And, I think the audience speak for themselves when we say this really isn't a surprise. The winners are..."

Logan leaned closer in anticipation. 

"Roman, Patton, and Virgil with The Same Four Notes!"

Another round of applause. Screams echoed around the hall as the three of them walked back on stage. A smile grew across Logan's face. There they were. In all their glory. God, Logan loved them so much. Now he understood why he felt all those things that he did. And why feeling them wasn't such a bad thing. 

Five or so minutes later, the curtains had closed, and people were allowed to leave. After waiting for his row to begin to clear out, Logan stood up, and walked out the room, heading round backstage to meet with the three of them. He had to quickly explain to the teacher outside the door that he was with Roman, Patton, and Virgil before he was allowed in, but it didn't take much persuasion, thankfully. 

He was immediately greeted by a huge hug from Patton, causing him to smile even more. After a moment or two of standing there, their arms wrapped around his each other, Patton pulled away, grinning. 

"Did you hear them cheering for us?" Patton said, virtually squealing. "They loved us!"

Logan nodded. "Indeed, I was cheering with them. You guys did great."

The other two gathered around them, with Roman's arm around Virgil's shoulder. Virgil was smiling, as well. That was nice to see. And _Roman_! Roman looked happier than ever. This was all just perfect. 

"So, where we off to now, manager?" Roman asked. 

Logan pursed his lips. "I don't know. Although, I believe the most socially acceptable thing to do in this situation is celebrate." 

"Socially acceptable," Virgil repeated, scoffing. "Since when are we 'socially acceptable'?"

Logan rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."

"How about the park again?" Patton suggested. "We could always order a pizza and set up a little midnight-picnic over there. _And_ , since it's a Friday, we can stay as long as we want."

The other three stared at him, before Virgil finally said, "Wow. Look at you. Giving a reasonable suggestion." 

"Roman, you okay with that?" Logan asked, as he knew that he'd be down for it at least, and Virgil had implied that he would be fine with the idea. 

Roman smiled. "I know a good pizza place."


	28. Patton

Patton grabbed another slice of pizza. His heart had been racing ever since they stepped off that stage. That night had truly been amazing. The school had loved them. Everything was perfect, just as it should be.

Plus, his boyfriends were incredibly cute on that night. Virgil had fallen asleep around fifteen minutes ago, curled up on Roman's lap. Roman was stroking Virgil's purple curls, as he sat besides Patton on the picnic blanket. And Logan had laid down on a grass a few inches away from the blanket, staring up and the stars and explaining each of the constellations he could see. Patton was listening to his voice, not really playing much attention to the words but instead to the tone, how excited Logan sounded from it all.

And of course, they had pizza. That made everything even better.

"You think we'll get to perform again?" Patton wondered, looking over at Roman and Logan.

"Oh, yes, I already have you booked for future gigs at a café, and I'm looking into a couple possible venues around town," Logan stated.

Patton laughed. "Yeah, yeah, but, I mean... properly perform. Like, do you think we'll work as a band?"

Logan sat up. "I sure hope so. I can do everything in my power to help you guys out."

"I think we'll be able to," Roman said. "Like, that's the dream, you know?"

"You do have to finish school though, first," Logan mentioned.

Roman groaned. "Ugh, school, why."

"Because you need a proper education." Logan laid back down. "We're at the same school, at least."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, but _why_?"

Logan turned his head to look at Roman. "Do I really have to explain this to you?"

Roman sighed, and looked down. "No."

"Good," Logan replied, with a nod.

"Well, Patton said, deciding to change the subject, "if there's one good thing that came out of all of this, it's us."

"Us?" Logan repeated.

"You know. Us four. Together." He clapped his hands, and intertwined his fingers. "We all came together, and now we're in love, and it's all perfect."

Logan hummed. "I suppose you are correct, Patton. And I do agree that this... this whole relationship thing is nice."

Patton's phone buzzed in his pocket, causing him to jump. He took it out, and glanced at the message, sighing. "Mum wants to know where we are. And also she wants us to come home."

"I suppose it is late," Logan stated. "Do you think we should wake Virgil?"

Patton shook his head. "No. He's had a long day. He's probably exhausted."

"I can carry him home," Roman offered, beginning to stand up with Virgil still in his arms. Patton watched fondly as Virgil curled up against Roman's chest, seeking warmth. God, he looked so cute.

"Are you sure you'll be able to carry him all that way?" Logan asked.

"Ha!" Roman exclaimed. "I'd be able to carry all of you nerds."

"Well, yes, it would make sense for you to be able to carry me or Patton, as we are both significantly smaller than Virgil, but Virgil is quite a bit taller than you," Logan explained.

"Shut up, I can do this."

"I believe you can do it, honey," Patton said, as he stood up and began to walk out the park.

Logan quickly got to his feet, and followed the other two (and a sleeping Virgil). The three of them walked back to Virgil's house, in complete silence. Possibly so they didn't wake up Virgil. Neither of them particularly wanted that.

Eventually, they reached his house, and Patton knocked on the door. It took a couple minutes for them to receive a response, but Virgil's mum finally opened the door, looking confused.

"What-" She glanced down at Virgil. "Virgil! You're back!"

Logan shushed her. "He's sleeping."

"Wh-why is he-"

"We were at the park," Patton quickly explained. "He feel asleep whilst we were still there, and wouldn't wake back up, so he thought it would be best to bring him home."

"Oh, okay, yeah, I-" She stepped aside. "Do you want to take him upstairs?"

"Yes," Roman said, with a nod, "thank you, Miss Andrews."

The three of them headed up to Virgil's bedroom, where Roman placed Virgil down on his bed. Patton went to sit at his bedside for a moment, stroking Virgil's hair and watching a small smile form on his boyfriends face. He leant down, and gave him a light kiss on the forehead, silently wishing him a good night.

"Virgil lives like this?" Logan suddenly said, looking around the room is dismay. "No, this will not stand." He began to pick clothes and the like off the floor.

Roman frowned. "What are you doing?"

"Tidying Virgil's room," Logan replied.

"Ok, no, we don't have time for this," Roman grabbed Logan's arm, and dragged him out the room. "You coming, Pat?"

"I'll catch up with you guys in a minute," he called after them, before looking back down at Virgil.

His eyes fluttered open. "Huh? What-"

"Shush," Patton whispered. "Go back to sleep. You're safe."

"Okay," Virgil mumbled, immediately closing his eyes and falling back into a deep sleep.

Patton smiled, kissed Virgil on the forehead one more time, and stood up, leaving the sleeping boy in peace. He left the room, and headed back downstairs, where Virgil's mum was blocking the door. 

"Do you mind explaining who you all are?" she asked. 

Patton nodded, and came up to the front of the group. "I'm Patton Sanders, this is Roman Prince, and this is Logan Berry," he introduced, pointing to each of them as he spoke their names. "We're Virgil's-"

"Friends," Logan interrupted, pushing his glasses up his nose. "I don't know if he's told you about us."

"He hasn't told me anything," his mum replied. 

"I'm not surprised." Logan smiled, slightly. "He fell asleep at the park whilst we were hanging out, and we wanted to ensure that he got home safely. I hope you don't mind."

"I don't mind at all," she said. "Thanks, you three, for being friends with Virgil. I have noticed that he's been happier lately. And I know that he... has trouble, making friends."

"It's our pleasure, Miss Andrews," Roman said, "but we should best be off."

"Yes, of course." She stepped aside. "Have a safe journey home."

The three of them nodded, and walked outside, heading out into the night. They stayed with each other until they reached Logan's house, where Roman and Patton continued without Logan, back to their own home. It had been a perfect night for them all. 


	29. Virgil

Virgil's hand danced gracefully across the keys, perfectly in sync with the soft violin playing right next to him. It was strange to think that just a few months ago, he had played this exact same song with the exact same violinist, but in different rooms, and now they were in here, together, playing as one. It was... exciting, he supposed. Exciting that in such a short period of time, he had grown more confident in himself that he had done in his entire life.

Piano still calmed him. Still helped to keep in grounded. And, yeah, that was an important part of his life. He still needed piano to keep him sane. To keep him happy. Except, that wasn't the only way anymore. He had friends. People to rely on. People... who were more than friends, actually. People who he loved. And who loved him. And helped him to learn to love himself.

That was the best feeling in the world. When he could hear his own heartbeat pounding in his chest, but no thoughts screaming in his mind. When his heart could sync up to the music rather than drown it out. When the sound of his heart wasn't a sign that he was afraid. When the sound of his heart was a sign that he was... happy. He had never felt that before, but now that he had, he couldn't get enough.

The two people standing besides him, Patton and Roman, had been the first people who heard his music. The person standing in front of him, Logan, had been the first person who he had opened up to. It was weird to think that he never had people like that before, never had somebody to go to, somebody to trust. He didn't know how he had survived without that. Without love.

The song came to a close. Virgil looked up at Logan, who's mouth was ajar. Virgil bit his lip, and his eyes shot to the floor, as he waited for a reaction, praying with every fibre of his being that it would be a good reaction.

"And... that was the same song you two played before forming the band?" Logan asked.

"The very same," Roman replied.

"So, that is how you guys met?"

Virgil glanced up at Roman, focusing on his smile. The two burst into a fit of giggles.

"Oh my God, that day!" Roman exclaimed, after the two had calmed down. "I thought you sounded _so_ cool!"

Virgil laughed. "Me too, dude! The whole thing we did together, it sounded awesome!"

"Yeah! And then I was so confused when you ran away!"

"I was so scared of you guys!"

"I remember going home with Patton that night, and just gushing to him about how beautiful you were," Roman recalled.

Virgil clicked his fingers, and looked over to Logan. "That was also the day I met you! I went home after that incident, and wanted to do something to get my mind off the whole thing, so I went to the café!"

"Ah," Logan began, calmly, "so that's why you arrived in the middle of the night."

"Exactly!"

"Well," Patton chimed in, placing a hand on Virgil's shoulder, "I guess it's plain to see that we are four lucky guys, to have all met and fallen in love." He leant down, and planted a quick kiss of Virgil's cheek.

Logan leant over the piano. "Yes, I agree. I'm glad us four got to know one another."

"I know!" Roman sighed, happily. "Can you _imagine_ what life would be like if we didn't have each other?"

"Well, it would certainly be more depressing, _that's_ for sure..." Virgil mumbled.

"Aww..." Patton wrapped his arms around Virgil. "Come on, neither of us ever have to be sad again."

Roman laughed heartily, and joined the hug, wrapping his arms around both Patton and Virgil. The other two joined in on his laugh, and looked up at Logan.

Logan sighed. "Oh, all right." He made his way around the piano, and approached the three of them, burying himself into the hug. The four stayed there a few moments, but he seemed to last forever. They could have stayed there forever, actually. They were finally happy, all together, with their hearts beating as one. Everything perfectly in sync, just like the music they could create. Just as if they had all played the same four notes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for making it this far! I hope that you enjoyed this~ 
> 
> Feel free to leave your thoughts on this. I really did work hard on it, hopefully people have actually read it. 
> 
> But yeah. Thanks for reading! I'll see y'all later!


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